Hebrews chapter 11 Hebrews chapter 11 and we are returning to our line of thought on faith. And we're going to note as we continue on in these verses, the many exploits of faith. What was accomplished by faith? And again, if you look into Hebrews chapter 10 in verse 38, it says, Now the just shall live by faith. But if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. And so the reference here is unto not saving faith, but what saving faith produces, which is living faith. And that is that our lives are brought under and in agreement with the Word of God. And you notice how the Bible says, now the just, those who are justified, those who have been pronounced free from the penalty of sin by God, they shall live by faith. And that's one of those promises of God. God said those who are saved shall live by faith. He didn't say they might. He said they shall. And so those who walk my faith evidence that they are just. And we who are saved, we ought to desire to walk my faith so we can evidence our glorious God who has made us just. And so we look over to Hebrews 11 and verse 32 and he kind of begins to just group some folks and some people together. And he says, And what shall I more say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephti, of David also, and of Samuel, and of the prophets. And then he says, verse 33, Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions." And we'll note that this evening, that through faith, they stopped the mouths of lions. And again here, the Holy Spirit gives the great exploits of faith. Included in these are, as we've already mentioned, ones we've covered, subduing kingdoms, working or wrought righteousness. We spent a couple lessons on obtaining promises. And now the Lord brings us to stopping the mouths of lions. I want to give you just a few thoughts that pertain unto lions. And I'm sure you know them and that's just fine, but we'll go over these. And we looked up about lions and it said they're ferocious animals. They're used in the Bible as a symbol of strength. I'm sure you've heard of the lion of the tribe of Judah in reference to Jesus Christ. We also have, not only is it strength, but powerful. They have a terrifying roar. They were spoken of, not only of lions in general, I'm told that the last lion seen outside of captivity in the Middle East was in the 13th century when it was killed. I don't know how they know that, but it was in a book, so it must be true, right? But as we look at different things and you think about lions, you don't think about the Middle East. You think more Africa and the desert and those places. But they were evidently there at one time. and they flourished greatly and we'll study and it was well known that pharaohs kept them and they would dig pits for these wild animals and try and tame them and they would keep them in the pits and it would be a sort of sport and used for entertainment and punishment and things of that nature. And so I'd like you to turn over if you would to Psalm 7. The 7th Psalm and let's notice here if you would verse 1 and 2. And we will come to this and take a look at it in greater depth in the message. But the Bible also speaks of two-legged lions. because the rider in the Psalms, and in other places, we'll note some here in the Psalms, but you can use a concordance and look up the word lion or lions, and you'll find that the Bible speaks of two-legged lions. And if you, as my father, when he spoke about some of the end times truths, and he talked about beware of dogs, he said those are two-legged dogs, not four. Well, there's two-legged lions also. And in Psalm 7, and if you'll notice verse 1 and verse 2, the psalmist David, and the title of this psalm, and if you don't have it recorded for you in your Scriptures, that's fine, but the title of this is Chegeyon, or however you pronounce it, which means praise, the praise of David, which he sang unto the Lord concerning the words of Cush the Benjamite. And you can look up and study about Cush the Benjamite. So evidently there was something that Cush the Benjamite had said unto David. I'd like you to notice what David begins to praise God with in verse 1. He says, O Lord my God, in Thee do I put my trust. Save me from all them that persecute me and deliver me. lest he tear my soul like a lion, rending it in pieces while there is none to deliver." And so he's referring unto his enemies and he says they're just like lions. Look over, if you would, in the 10th Psalm. Psalm number 10. And notice if you would, in verse 9, here again the writer is speaking of concerning the wicked. You run reference up to verse 2 and it says, the wicked. And he continues to outline the wicked. And if you'll notice down into verse 9, he lieth in wait secretly as a lion in his den. He lieth and wait to catch the poor. He doth catch the poor when he draweth him into his net. And so, there's several different references, but one of them, the writer here, is referring unto the wicked who lie and wait. They're just like a lion that waits in its den to catch its prey. And we look further in the 22nd Psalm. Here is a messianic hymn and it's referring unto Christ. And I think there's some application to the life of David as well. But we know that it's applicable unto the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. And Psalm 22 is a picture of Jesus at Calvary. There He is on Mount Calvary. If you don't know that, just read verse 1 and you'll see that that's so. It's one of the seven sayings of Christ on the cross. And you look down into verse 12 and it says, many bulls have compassed me. Strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round. Well, he's not talking about the literal animal. He is in referencing here and he is using a metaphor or a simile to refer unto the wicked who are round about him. And then in verse 13 it says, they gaped upon me with their mouths as a ravening and a roaring lion. I am poured out like water and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax, it is melted in the midst of my bowels. And if you've ever studied a crucifixion or what happens, that's exactly what happens. Your body becomes all out of joint and the heart, it melts, it turns into liquid within the body. And so, we find here this is all in reference unto the Lord. And He refers unto His enemies who compassed Him about. Who was it who compassed Him about? Well, there were the Pharisees, there were the scribes, there were the Sadducees, there was the Gentiles, and remember how they said, O thou be the Christ, save thyself and us, come down from the cross. They mocked and ridiculed Him, and here He says, they gaped upon Me with their mouths. as a ravening and roaring lion. So there are two-legged lions. There are two-legged ones. And the Bible says that by faith their mouths are stopped. You know, some people's mouths, they just spew out vile things, don't they? And they spew out things and they gnash their teeth just like they did on the Lord, just like they did on Stephen. And that's exactly what the reference here is unto. So let's take a look and let's turn over, if you would, in the Old Testament. And let's look at literal lions. And I don't want to spend a great deal of time in some of these, but look over to the book of Judges, chapter 14. The book of Judges, chapter 14. I'm sure when you read that phrase, stop the mouths of lions, that if you have If you've studied these, you've gone over these, the Lord calls things to our memories, does He not? And so some of these may have come to your mind, and that's good. And so you look here in Judges chapter 14, we find a man by the name of Samson. And you'll notice here in verse 5 and 6, and I'd like you to notice here that all of these in the Old Testament who dealt with lions, they didn't do it in and of themselves. It was something that happened as they were laboring and doing the work of the Lord. It wasn't like today's snake handlers, you know, who handle snakes to prove that their faith is great and it always points to them. These were not lion handlers. They were men who were doing the work of God and there were lions in the pathway. And their mouths were stopped because of faith. They didn't try to tame him, they didn't try to barter with him, they didn't say, well, I can't go that way, there's a lion there. By faith, they stopped the mouths of lions. And Samson had said here in Judges chapter 14, verse 5, Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath. And behold, a young lion roared against him. And I believe this was a literal lion. But you will find in your walk, as you are in the course in which God would have you to go, you will have some two-legged lions who will roar against you, and oppose you, and be against you. And the Bible says in verse 6, And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him. And that's why you shouldn't mess with four-legged lions the way Samson did because I doubt very seriously that the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you in the same way. But we can deal with two-legged lions. We can deal with them. And the Spirit of the Lord will be with us and upon us. And it says here that the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid. And he had nothing in his hand, but he told not his father or his mother what he had done. And he went down and talked with the woman, and she pleased Samson well. Again, observe some things about this. Samson was going on his way. A lion was in his way, and it roared. And the Bible says a young lion roared against him. And then the Spirit of the Lord came upon him. So it's not like he went out and sought a lion to glorify himself, did he? It was in the course of his daily walk and life. So we need to bear that in mind. Then turn over to 1 Samuel chapter 17. 1 Samuel chapter 17 ought to be fresh in our minds. It was not long ago that we read this in our daily reading. It's one of those well-known stories of the Bible when David goes and confronts Goliath. And you know the story, I'm sure, and how that David came. His father had sent him, and he said, I want you to go and check on your brothers. They were out in the army of Saul, and the Philistines and Israelites were supposed to be fighting, and the champion of Gath, Goliath, had come out and he said, listen, if there's one of you Israelites who will beat me, then we'll be subject to you, and vice versa. If I beat your individual, then I'll be subject to you. And Israel was all afraid. of Goliath. Why? Because they looked on him with their sight. David alone looks on him with the eyes of faith. You'll find here what David has to say when he comes and he speaks unto his family and his fellow Israelites and then Saul as well as you read down through these verses. You see, it's a tremendous, tremendous thing that took place here and all that was done. And let's look, if you would, at verse 31 of 1 Samuel 17. I don't want to take the time to read this entire chapter, but we'll notice at verse 31, it says, And when the words were heard which David spake, they rehearsed them before Saul, And he sent for him. And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him. That is because of Goliath. Thy servant will go and fight with the Philistine. And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth. David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock. And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth. And when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God. David said, moreover, the Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the Lord be with thee. So what we find here is with David, David was a young man. He was a youth. And everybody doubted David's abilities. Well, the problem was that David's ability didn't reside in himself, it resided in the Lord. And they all should have been willing to fight Goliath, but they were timid. They were fearful, yet here alone this youth was willing to go out and fight. Why? Because he trusted the Lord. And he looked and he saw this individual and he said, why? He's defied God. He said, let me tell you something. He said, when I was watching my father's sheep, now notice again. It was in the course of his life that he came across the lion. David didn't go out and seek the lion. He was tending to his father's sheep. And lo and behold, a lion came as well as a bear, and they took some of his father's sheep, and he went out and he said, the Lord delivered me out of their paw. I'd like you to notice how he gives all glory unto the Lord, doesn't he? And that's what we need to do. And he relied on the strength of the Lord to deliver him out of the paw of the lion, out of the paw of the bear. And he says the Lord's going to do the same thing when it comes to Goliath because he's defied the living God. And so again, we find that, and you know what took place and how David went out and he had his sling and he hit Goliath in the head and that was the end of that. Well, let's look over to 2 Samuel chapter 23. 2 Samuel chapter 23. Here's one you probably may not be familiar with. Here we find an individual by the name of Benaiah. Benaiah, or however you pronounce it. If you look over to verse 8, this is one of the mighty men of valor under David. And these were some tremendous men, and I pray that you'll read over this, or when we get to chapter 23, you'll take some time and read about these individuals. I'm not just saying we look at this and say, boy, these guys were something else. Let me tell you, we ought to be doing the same thing today in the spiritual warfare of the Lord. Israel had a literal physical warfare. Ours is spiritual. And we ought to be doing the same thing they did in our spiritual battles. And it says in verse 8, these be the names of the mighty men whom David had. The Tacmanite sat in the seat, chief among the captains, the same was the Dino. The Esnite, he lift up his spear against 800 whom he slew at one time. Well, that's something else, isn't it? 800 people he slew with the spear. Well, I tell you what, and I'm not saying this in any braggart fashion, but boy, wouldn't that be something here David had, as the Bible says. Here's the names of the mighty men whom David had. And you know, as you travel, and maybe some of you have traveled before, and you stop at a place and they'll have, you know, some kind of memorial about some individual, some soldier, some great feat that was done there. And you kind of look at it and say, well, that's pretty neat, isn't it? I tell you what, it's a wonderful thing to have your name in the Lamb's Book of Life. But this wasn't talking, this was something else. These were men who not did, because again, the Lamb's Book of Life were written there by greats. These were men who through faith had fought and worked valiantly. I tell you, I'm thankful, but I'd also like to have my name in this book, in Jesus' book or names of men who warred valiantly. And all you have to do is be faithful. All you have to do is what the Lord tells you to do. You don't have to go and be David or Paul or Peter or any one of them. You just have to be who the Lord has ordained and set for you to do. And fulfill your duty that the Lord's given you. Be faithful. Not timid. Not fearful. You skip down into verse 20. It says in Banei, the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man, of Kabzeel, who had done many acts, he slew two lion-like men of Moab. He went down also and slew a lion in the midst of a pit in time of snow. And he slew an Egyptian, a goodly man, or a beautiful man. And the Egyptian had a spear in his hand, but he went down to him with a staff and plucked the spear out of the Egyptian's hand and slew him with his own spear. These things did Bnei, the son of Jehoiada, and had the name among three mighty men. He was more honorable than the thirty, but he attained not to the first three, and David set him over his guard." Boy, I tell you, that's something he did. The man had a spear and he had a staff and he just plucked it right out of his hand and killed him with it. That's something else. Well, we're to do and fight and work valiantly for the Lord with the tools He's given us. This man did a tremendous thing. Turn over to Daniel chapter 6. I'm sure this is probably the one that we all were thinking of. First and foremost, you know, because here we find that the mouths of lions were stopped. I'm not going to read all of this, but I do want to tell you something. I remember my father, he always made a point of saying that Daniel was not cast into a lion's den, he was cast into a den of lions. A lion's den may just be where they meet, but a den of lions means they were there. The whole pack was there. And we look at this and I'm sure that you're familiar with the story. And I think that this was probably what the Holy Spirit was directly referring to. But as we look at this, and I would encourage you to read it, here it is during Darius' time as king. The time of the Babylonians was over. The Medes and the Persians had taken over everything, and yet, here was Daniel, he was still there. Isn't that something? He was still there. And the Bible tells in Daniel 6 and verse 1, it says, And it pleased Darius to set over the kingdom and 120 princes, which should be over the whole kingdom, 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. Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him, and the king thought to set him over the whole realm. You know, what is that to anybody else? I mean, people get all worked up and say, well, I'm jealous of Daniel because he had a great spirit upon him and now the king wants to set him over me. Well, big deal. So what? The Lord gives out His spirit as He sees fit. But they were so jealous that they concocted a scheme and they said, you read verse 4, then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom, but they could find none occasion or fault for as much as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him. So we can't find anything to take to Darius and say, Darius, here's the crimes he's committing. So we can't find anything. So verse 5, Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God. You know why? Because Daniel was going to do what God told him to do regardless of anything else. And you know, the Jews tried that with Jesus Christ. And it was so bad that they couldn't even trip him up when they asked him a tricky question. that they had to hire false accusers. And they couldn't even get their story straight. If it wouldn't have been for the determinate forecounsel of God, he wouldn't have been crucified. Now we look here and you find about Daniel. I said we're going to have to find an occasion against him in how he serves God. Not everybody likes it when you serve God the way God says to be served. That's not your problem. That's their problem. That's the problem of if another church doesn't like the way you serve God and you're serving God the right way, that's their problem. If another pastor doesn't like it, another church member doesn't like it, it's not your problem, it's their problem. And so they said, the only way we're going to find occasion against Daniel is if we find that we make some sort of rule that is contrary to him serving God, because he's going to serve his God. So they did. So if anybody prays in the next X amount of days unto anybody except this thing, then, you know, you're going to be brought up before Darius. And the punishment was to be cast into the den of lions. So the Bible tells us that this took place and they accused Daniel. The Bible tells us that all that transpired, Darius tells Daniel, the Lord God whom you serve continually, he will deliver thee. And in verse 17, 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, that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel. 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 greatly loved Daniel. He greatly loved him. That's a tremendous thing, isn't it? And he says here in the next verse, verse 19, Then the king arose very early in the morning and went in haste unto 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, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions? Verse 21, then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live forever. My God has sent his angel, not an angel, but his angel, referring unto the Lord Jesus Christ. Because again, the word angel simply means messenger. And he's a servant. He said, oh, he sent his angel. And hath shut the lion's mouths. Isn't that exactly what we have recorded in Hebrews and through faith? You know, a lot of people would have, they would have said, well, you know, God doesn't want me to die for this, so I'll just not, I won't violate their rules for 30 days. It's not that big of a deal. It is a big deal. Anything that alters us from doing things the way God says is a big deal. And we can talk all we want. I heard a preacher preach and he said, boy, I tell you, when they start forcing gay marriage on us, I'm going to go down to the courthouse and I'm going to preach against it. And I said, why don't you just preach against it now? What difference does it make if it's outlawed or not? That's just grandstanding. That's all that is. Daniel was consistently serving God. He says he serviced Him continually. No law was going to change what he did. They said, you can't pray. He said, well, it's time to pray, I'm going to pray. He said, well, you can't worship God this way anymore. Well, it's time to worship God. I'm going to go worship God. Well, he'll get cast into a den of lions. So be it. People say, well, they're going to eat you. Maybe so. Maybe not. See, we look at the end result, we say, well, if I follow the Lord, this is what will happen. You don't know what's going to happen. You don't know what's going to happen five seconds from right now, do we? We don't know. God said, you be faithful. You be faithful. So Daniel was faithful. I tell you what, they'd have just thrown him in the lions den no matter what, they'd have found some other reason. But if he would have went in there and was unfaithful to God, ooh, that would not have gone well. It would not have gone well. But you know, if the lions would have ate him, guess what would have happened? He'd have went home to be with his Savior. I mean, you know, kind of hard to beat that, isn't it? See, we get all worked up, well, this might happen, that might happen. We don't know what's going to happen. All we are told is to serve the Lord. That's it. God will take care of the rest. Does not the potter have power over the clay? And what if it is the Lord's will for you to be eaten and ravaged by lions? Then so be it. You'll obtain a better resurrection than if you had avoided it. Did that not happen to many of our Baptist forefathers? Absolutely it did. And they went home and met their Savior faithfully. I'd rather meet Him faithfully than unfaithfully, that's for sure. Daniel went on to say, Verse 23 then, or excuse me, it goes on and it says, verse 22, My God has sent His angel and has shut the lion's mouth, but they have not heard Me, for as much as before Him innocency was found in Me, and also before Thee, O King, have I done no hurt. Says, then was the king exceeding 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. Notice, because he what? Believed in his God. That's why it happened. Not because of anything else. Those lines weren't full. Because you keep reading, and in the next verse, and the king commanded, and they brought those men which had accused Daniel, and 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 in pieces wherever they came at the bottom of the den. Does everyone understand that phrase, wherever they came at the bottom of the den? It means this was the only time in the history that those lions, never, never, attacked and killed and ate what was down in that pit, in that den. And you know who it was? It was Daniel. That's it. And the Bible tells us in verse 23 why it happened. Because he believed in his God. Did Daniel believe that his God would deliver him from the lion's den? The den of lions? Yeah. How did he show that he believed? He continued to serve the Lord. He never deviated from it. He kept on keeping on. He wasn't afraid of what men would do to him. He wasn't afraid of what was going to happen tomorrow, or for the next 30 days, or the next 30 years. He said, today, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. If we're so worried about tomorrow that we don't serve the Lord today, I tell you what, tomorrow's going to be even more messed up. Look over in Acts chapter 4. Acts chapter 4. Here we find some figurative lions. Some figurative lions. We'll look here in Scripture, in the book of Acts chapter 4. And notice, if you would, beginning at verse 17. Here were some two-legged lions. Here was the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. They had been preaching Christ. They had been teaching the Word of God publicly. And it says in verse 17, They stated, but that it spread no further among the people, let us straightly threaten them that they speak henceforth to no man in this name. And they called them and commanded them not to speak at all, nor teach in the name of Jesus. And again, the Lord did what? He stopped the mouths of lions. Notice here, they're just talking. They're just words. Remember how God told Jeremiah, don't be afraid of their faces, because they're not going to touch you? Well, they touched him physically, but they couldn't take his life, could they? Here, they're just talking. We get so afraid of words, don't we? We get so afraid of bodily harm. But we don't follow the Lord spiritually. And that's exactly what Satan wants. These two things are smoke screen. Words and physical harm are things to get us not to follow the Lord spiritually. Satan doesn't care about our bodies. He doesn't care about the words and that. He doesn't want us to follow the Lord. That's it. And this is just all smoke and mirrors. That's all it is. And in Acts chapter 4, he continues on, and notice what Peter and John said. I believe again, remember, Peter got converted, didn't he? Boy, he was bold. And rightly so, because he had a Savior. And it says here in verse 19, But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard. You know what they told them? Them two-legged lions? Said, you tell us, should we listen to you or should we listen to God? Well, they were Jews, so they knew you're supposed to listen to God. And we all know we're supposed to do what God says. So we ought not to listen to any two-legged lions. He goes on in Acts chapter 5. Acts chapter 5, and notice here again, verse 28. And this is, they get hauled back before the same people. And they say in verse 28, saying, Did not we straightly command you that ye should not teach in this name? And behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine or your teaching. And their doctrine and teaching was Jesus Christ. Don't misunderstand, it was something else. It was the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. And if we ever get away from that, God help us. God help us if we teach something apart from Jesus Christ and Him crucified. But he said, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine and intend to bring this man's blood upon us. Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, we ought to obey God rather than man. So again, and you can turn over and read and here's all the things that they were going to do and they were going to, verse 33 concludes with, and took counsel to slay them. Oh, they were going to kill them. Again, What happens if you're a child of God and you are killed for your testimony with the Lord Jesus Christ? What happens if you're a child of God and you die? You go home and be with the Lord, right? What a horrible thing to happen to us. And I say that sarcastically. That's the way a lot of people act when it comes to serving the Lord. If I do this, so what? The Bible says, you keep reading here, verse 34, it said, then stood there up one in the council of Pharisee named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law, had a reputation among all the people, and commanded to put the apostles forth a little space, and said unto them, you men of Israel, take heed yourselves, which he intended you as touching these men. For before these days rose up Judas, boasting himself to be somebody, to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves. He was slain, and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered and brought to nothing, or to naught. Verse 37 After this man rose up Judas of Galilee in the days of the taxing, and drew away much people after him, he also perished, and all, even as many as obeyed him, were dispersed. Now I say unto you, refrain from these men, and let them alone. For if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to naught or nothing. But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it, lest haply ye be found even to fight against God." That's exactly right. And so you know what they did? They agreed. Verse 40, to Him they agreed. And when they had called the apostles and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus and let them go. And you know what the disciples did? They rejoiced. No, verse 41. And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. And daily in the temple and in every house they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ. So, if you ever get brought and you're going to face the mouths of lions or two-legged lions or you're going to be beaten for preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, You ought to praise Him for it when it takes place and rejoice that you've been counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. Because there's a lot of people who don't. There's a lot of people who are never shamed for a testimony. And part of it is because they don't have a testimony. They're closet Christians, if they're Christians at all. They don't want anybody to know that they're a Christian or saved. So they rejoiced. Look over in 1 Peter chapter 5. 1 Peter chapter 5. Again, the mouths of lions were stopped. You realize that those who beat the apostles or the first church saints, you know they couldn't go past what God would have them to go? And look what happened when they were beaten. If further, the gospel and the preaching of God's Word. And is it not, as the Bible says, that He's the potter and we're the clay, and He can do whatever with us He pleases to do? And if He has designed for me to be beaten with a stick, then so be it! Who am I to resist His will? We're the clay. And He's sovereign over us. If it's His desire for us to preach the Gospel and nothing happens to us, so be it. But He'll stop the mouths of lions when we walk by faith. He'll stop them when He plans to stop them. He didn't keep Daniel out of the den of lions or out of the lion's den. He went down in there and then He stopped it. If Daniel would have never went in there, we probably would have said, well, that's great. But he did go in there, and he made it through the night, and we say, boy, that's something, isn't it? See how God ordains everything to make him even more glorious than we could possibly imagine? Oh, if Daniel would have been delivered from even going down there, we'd say, praise God. But he went down in there, and God shut their mouths, and we say, in a greater fashion, praise the Lord. See, God will let us even get in the fire, but the flame doesn't hurt us, does it? In 1 Peter chapter 5 and in verse 8, Simon Peter writes, and I think he had some personal experience with this, as we all should have, he said, Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. Now notice, Whom resist steadfast in the what? Faith. In the faith. And in the faith is in the whole revelation of God's word. It's the same thing that Jude said when he talked about that you ought to contend for the faith means the whole revelation of God's scriptures. So we have to resist Satan, as the Bible says here, in the faith. We have to resist him in the Scriptures. Because again, what were the characteristics of a lion? Ferocious, strength, powerful, terrifying. And they are. I never could get the lion to come up close to you at the zoo, behind the glass, but we had a tiger there. Well, I'll tell you what. I didn't think that glass was thick enough when he got up close. If you just YouTube lion attacks, well, I'll tell you something else. But there's no attack so ferocious as that of Satan's. There isn't. And the Bible tells us that Satan, he's likened unto a roaring lion, walking about seeking whom he may devour. Well, guess what? God can stop his mouth too. He stopped him in the case of Job, didn't he? He said, well, you can't touch him. And so Satan couldn't touch him. And then he said, well, you can touch him, but you can't kill him. And Satan couldn't, could he? God can do whatever he wants with you and me. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 2 and verse 11, lest Satan should get an advantage of us, for we are not ignorant of his devices." We're not ignorant of Satan's devices. We know exactly how he conducts himself and how he works. What did Satan do in the garden? Remember what he said? He came to Eve, the woman. She had yet to be named Eve yet, but he came to the woman and he began to question her about what God had said. And he was trying to draw her into a place where she didn't believe that God said what He meant and meant what He said. And he said unto the woman, he said, Can you not eat of every tree in the garden? And she said, Well, there's one in the midst of the garden that we're not supposed to eat of or even to look at. For the day that we eat of it, we'll surely die. And Satan said, Oh, ye shall not surely die. And you can kind of hear his tone, can't you? ye shall not surely die. God knows if you eat of that, you're going to be just like Him. And what did she do? She looked at that tree and she saw it was good for food, and it was desired to make one wise, and she doubted what God had said. And that is how Satan works. And he ain't going to come to you in the form of a serpent. And he's not going to speak audibly to you. Well, He is going to test you, and push you, and try you, and pull you, and take you places you never thought you'd go. We know how He works. He wants us to doubt what God said. whether it's in your personal life, in your personal conduct, whether it's in our lives as parents or grandparents or children or whatever that it is. He wants us to doubt it. He wants us to doubt that this is the way, walk ye therein. He wants to say, no, that's not the way. He wants those that are lost to continue and stay blinded. That they will not see Jesus Christ as the Lamb of God dying to take away the sins of the world. But He is. And He wants you and I to believe that propagating the Gospel is worthless because, well, you've been doing it for 16 months and you ain't had a convert yet. That's not our problem. God's the one who saves them. We're the ones who preach the Word. Satan wants us to doubt all of what God has said. And the only way to stop his mouth is by faith. Which is exactly what Peter said. Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil is a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour, whom resist steadfast in the faith. Resist him. James said in James 4 and verse 7 that you submit yourselves to God and resist the devil and he will flee from you. And he will. Because you know who is right behind you holding you up? The lion of the tribe of Judah. And the Bible says in 1 Peter 5 and verse 8 that Satan is our adversary And He is as a roaring lion. That's all He does is roars. He can't touch you. He's just roaring. He's just making a bunch of noise. And we get terrified of Him because we don't resist Him in the faith. We cave in just like Eve. Oh, God didn't mean what He said. It's okay. Well, it wasn't okay, was it? Look over to Matthew 4, and let's see how Christ conducted Himself and how we ought to conduct ourselves when it comes to this lion, that his mouth might be stopped. Oh, Satan, we're not ignorant of his devices. And Paul wrote under the church deposits, give no place to the devil. Don't give him a foothold is what that means. I'm sure you've seen them fake rock climbing walls and they got those footholds on there, you know? Don't give Satan one of those! In your life, in your church life, in your family life, in your home. Matthew 4 and verse 1, Then was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. Now again, Christ is on His daily walk, isn't He? He's serving the Lord. And the Spirit led Him up to be tempted. There's times God will take us to that place too. And He has a purpose for it. It says, to be tempted of the devil. Verse 2, when He had fasted 40 days and 40 nights, He was afterward in hunger. Well, I'll tell you what. Christ was spiritually preparing Himself, wasn't He? We don't spiritually prepare for these times of dealing with Satan. We're not ready. That's why we get defeated a lot. We're not ready. We're not ready to resist Him steadfastly in the faith. But He goes on and He says in verse 3, When the tempter came to Him, He said, Thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But He answered and said, written. He didn't have a Bible, he didn't have a concordance, he didn't have blueletterbible.org where he could Google or search engine it. He knew the Scriptures. Christ knew the Scriptures. You have them written down for you. Use them. Write them on your heart. Take them in, as the psalmist said, that we won't sin against Him. Memorize a couple verses. But He answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Memorize these three verses Christ quotes. You should be well. He quotes Scripture to the devil. He's resisting him in the faith. Well, let's look at verse 5. And the devil went away. No, that's not what it says. See, we want it to be over with already. We don't want it to happen in the first place, but then we want it to be quick and easy. Well, the Bible says in verse 5, Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, and saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down, for it is written, Now Satan quotes scriptures. See, now it's getting a little tougher, isn't it? It is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee, and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. And you know what? Some of us, myself included, we probably would have said, well he did say that, didn't he? And he did say it, but that's misapplied, isn't it? Christ answers Satan and he says, Jesus said unto him, it is written again, thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. See how He's resisting him in the face? Here's the lion. This is our adversary. It's the same one that troubled Eve and Adam in the garden. It's the same one who has been our adversary down through the ages of God's people. And here He is with Christ. And Christ stopped His mouth with what? The Word of God. He was steadfast in the faith. He said, here's what God said, and that's what God meant. The next verse. And again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them. And he saith unto them, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. And Jesus said, you know, if I had all these kingdoms, and I have all this money, we could really get the job done. That's not what he said at all. See how Satan offers us compromises to what God says? Do you see how Satan's always drawing us away from trusting the Lord and doing things his way? Satan says, Christ, you don't have to go to Calvary and die. All you have to do is bow down before me. And I'll give you the kingdoms of this world. I'm the God of this world. You don't have to die. That's God's plan. You don't have to do that. I'll give Him to you. Christ says unto him, Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan, for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve. And then we find in verse 11, Then the devil leaveth him, and behold, angels came and ministered unto him. So here's another lion. Here's another lion. There's literal lions, physical lions. I haven't seen any in Florida. I know there's panthers here somewhere, but I haven't crossed any in my daily path. I'm not too worried about those lions. It's the two-legged ones and Satan that concern me. But the Bible says that if I resist Him steadfastly in the faith, not in my own power, in my own might, or in my own ability, but in the faith, He will flee from me. The only way to confront a lion is with the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. That's it. That's it. We have to learn to be swordsmen with God's Word. Amen. What stops the mouths of lions? Faith. Faith in what? Faith in the Lord, faith in what He says, faith in doing things God's way. If you don't think that's true, just look at some of our Southern Baptists who over time have gone the way which is not the way of the Lord. They have departed from the faith because they said, we don't need to do it God's way. They used to do it God's way, but they haven't done it generally speaking, majority speaking. They haven't done it God's way in a long time. God said my ways are not your ways and my thoughts are not your thoughts, for my ways are better than your ways and my thoughts are higher than your thoughts. Satan wants us to believe that God's ways are going to end in a horrible way. What happens to us if it goes, as humans think, if you die and you're saved? You go and be with the Lord. Isn't that what we ought to say? Oh, I'm looking for the Lord to come. But if the Lord wants to do this, I might die, so I'm not going to do it. It seems contradictory, doesn't it? Well, I'm not going to serve God because I might die, but here I am praying, even so, come Lord Jesus. It's kind of hypocritical, don't you think? But I'm not going to do God's Word. Because this might happen. So what? Maybe He'll stop the miles of lions. And we'll render God gloriously. There was an individual by the name of Diotrephes who ran his mouth. John wrote a letter and said, I'll remember his pratting words that he said. Well, God remembers his pratting words too. It's just words, folks. They can't touch you. And if God permits them to touch you, just like Job, He's going to bless you more in the end than He did in the beginning. But as we look at our text again there in Hebrews, by faith they stopped the mouths of lions. What a tremendous thing God did. Who had ever heard of that before? There's no record of it in Scripture. There's no record of it anywhere. But here was God by faith. And again, notice the key. They were doing the Lord's Word. They were submissive to God's Word. That's faith. Faith isn't just, well, I believe this doctrine, I believe that doctrine. No, faith comes into practice of doing what God says. And they were doing what God said. Daniel was doing it. And they got cast down in there with those lions for doing it, and God shut the lions' mouths. Daniel praised him for it. And we ought to praise him for it, too. Because he's the one that works it out. And if Daniel would have been eaten by lions, he'd have worked it out for Daniel's good, too. I mean, Daniel couldn't lose. And we can't lose when we walk by faith. Can't lose. We're here tonight and you're not saved. You need Jesus Christ, who is able to stop the mouths of lions, who is able to deliver people from their own sins. And all of these things that we noted show His ability to do things that we can't imagine, humanly speaking, and the greatest of them all is to save us from our sins by the death, burial, and resurrection of His Son. And as the Scriptures say, you need to come to Him that you might be saved. If you are saved, the just shall live by faith. So may we walk by faith. Let's stand and we'll close tonight with a word of prayer.