LIVING AMONG THE LIONS

LIVING AMONG THE LIONS

DANIEL 6:10-16

Last Sunday, we honored our college and high school graduates; and, as we did, we considered some important lessons from the bo= ok of Daniel—lessons aimed at that pivotal moment in life “when it’s time to leave home.”

This week is Vacation Bible School—and the connection between then and now is pretty obvious. The time to prepare our children f= or leaving home is while they are still children.

Our theme for Bible School is (can you = tell?) “Under the Big Top;” and where there’s a circus, of cours= e, there are lions. =

So I’ve asked Dan Fricks to share a little story= with you this morning—one he reminded me of a few weeks back—which, = in turn, inspired me to preach from this text today. So, appropriately enough, HERE̵= 7;S DANIEL.

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Thanks, Dan—when he reminded me of that story, I= gave him an option: he could either share it with you, or wait until I read our = text for today…and then say in a loud voice, “Peggy, I have to go potty!” You see which o= ne he chose. Well, here’s out= text:

Daniel 6:10-1= 6 ¹⁰ Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs ro= om 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. ¹¹ Then these men went as a gro= up and found Daniel praying and asking God for help. ¹² So they wen= t to the king and spoke to him about his royal decree: "Did you not publish= a decree that during the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or man except to you, O king, would be thrown into the lions' den?"

The king answered, "The decree stands—in accordance with the laws of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed." ¹³ Then they said to the king, "Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to y= ou, O king, or to the decree you put in writing. He still prays three times a day." ¹⁴ When the king heard this, he was greatly distresse= d; he was determined to rescue Daniel and made every effort until sundown to s= ave him.

¹⁵ T= hen 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." ¹⁶ So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions' den.

Okay, most of us know the story of Daniel and the lions’ den. We’ve= heard it often, and we know how it ends. <= /span>

We never plan to be that close to lions personally, at= least not without some strong bars between us and them; but what I want to sugges= t to us today is that you and I and all the people we love are, in a real sense, “living among the lions” right now.

If you are a parent or grandparent, maybe a Sunday Sch= ool teacher, or someone else who works with children, then you are especially concerned about the dangers that exist in our world. We desire, above everything else, = to keep our children safe—to protect them from anything that would harm them.

The point is this: every wise parent is attempting to = raise children today who’ll be equipped and ready to “live among the lions.” This is what VB= S, along with so many of the other things we do around here, are all about—to prepare our children to live well, to live as followers of Christ, in a lion-infested world.

And there’s help for us right here in this wonde= rful Old Testament story of Daniel. Let’s take a look.

1. TO LIVE AMONG LIONS, YOU MUST KNOW= HOW IMPORTANT YOUR LIFE IS. Last Sunday= , we noted that life was not going well for Daniel and his friends. Their homeland was defeated, and t= hey were now captives in Babylon.

This was a sad time for God’s people. The period known as “the exi= le” produced the 137^th Psalm which begins, “By the rivers of <= st1:City w:st=3D"on">Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. There on the poplars we hung our harps…”

The Psalm says the Babylonians asked their Hebrew capt= ives to sing for them, but they responded, “How can we sing the songs of the = Lord while in a foreign land?” (Psalm 137:1, 4)

It would have been so easy for Daniel to have felt wor= thless—unimportant—in these foreign surroundings. H= e went from prominence in Jerusalem to a position= of servitude in Babylon.

He could have spent all his time remembering how thing= s used to be, grieving, complaining, regretting all the changes that had come his = way, thinking his life was over.

The Prophet Jeremiah was God’s voice in this tim= e of crisis—a messenger to God’s people who were being tempted to ju= st give up. Listen to his words (Jere= miah 29:4-7):

⁴ Th= is is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: ⁵ "Build house= s and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. ⁶ Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. ⁷ Also, seek the peace and prosperity of= the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, becau= se if it prospers, you too will prosper."

What’s God saying? Don’t give in to your circumstances. Don’t qu= it living your life! This is sim= ply the way things are going to be for awhile, so accept the fact and make the = best of it.

Well, this is what Daniel does. He knows his life has value—= his faith assures him of this—and he’s determined to make a positive contribution…whatever his circumstances. The King keeps noticing this about Daniel, so he promotes him to positions of greater power and influence.

Living among lions is not easy, but Daniel’s exa= mple is that one person, bringing his best to life, can have a significant impac= t on the lives of others—an effective, God-honoring witness—which is what Daniel had. With all he = had been through, Daniel still understood the importance of his life, and he li= ved accordingly.

2. Which brings us to this: TO LIVE AMONG LIONS, YOU MUST RESIST = BECOMING ONE OF THEM. Let me tell = you what’s going on in the sixth chapter of Daniel. The King is about to put Daniel in charge of his whole kingdom. = The other officials learn of this, don’t like it, so they devise a plan w= hich they believe will put an end to Daniel.

It’s an old story, isn’t it? We see it all the time in politics= —locally and nationally. Somebody̵= 7;s getting too much power or influence, so others devise a sinister plan to de= stroy him. It’s a dog-eat-dog world—except in Babylon<= /st1:place>, you might call it a “lion-eat-lion” world—or a “lio= n-eat-man…” world?!?

Friends, if we want to honor God with our lives, and i= f at the end of the day, we want to be at peace with the way we have conducted o= ur lives, then we have to find ways to live above the lions. We must choose to be people of inte= grity no matter the cost—and living with integrity can be costly, because sometimes the lions get the upper hand—for awhile.

When it came to Daniel’s personal integrity, the= re were no chinks in his armor. = He was true-blue to his God, his faith, and to a lifestyle that backed up his conv= ictions. Life is so much simpler, and bette= r, friends, when lived this way.

Daniel lived uncorrupted by those about him, so he was= uninhibited in carrying out the responsibilities assigned to him. I have to believe that somebody had raised Daniel right!

Bibl= e School is all about= doing this very thing: raising children right, children who grow up to demonstrate strong Christian character. S= everal of our members have devoted many hours to planning and preparing, and many = more hours will be given this week to leading this Bible School ministry.

Why do we do this?&nb= sp; Because WE GET how important this is—to raise children who are devoted to the Lord, children who become people of strong Christian charact= er. There is simply no substitute for = it!

We’re teaching our children that even though the= y may have to live among the lions, they don’t have to become one!

3. Finally, TO LIVE AMONG LIONS, YOU MUST TRUST THAT YOU ARE NOT ALONE.= Everybody lives among lions sometimes. Psalm 57 describes= the troubles we encounter in life as living “in the midst of lions.”

Later, Paul speaks of a time when he manages to escape= from his enemies as being “delivered from the lion’s mouth” (II Tim. 4:17). I wonder if he had Daniel in mind.

Perhaps it’s because of Daniel’s ordeal that lions became a symbol in Scripture of “= desperate circumstances.” Or mayb= e it’s because of the lions in the Roman arenas.&= nbsp; There were Christians who had to face those lions. Some were martyred, giving their l= ives for the cause of Christ.

The lions we face today may not be as fierce—but= they’re real. We all must live among = the lions at times.

And in those times, how we need to know that we’= re not alone—that the God of Daniel…and Paul…the God and Father = or our Lord Jesus Christ, is with us. He never leaves us nor forsakes us.

You remember how Daniel spent all night with the lions= . Listen what happened the next morn= ing (Daniel 6:19-22a):

At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurrie= d to the lions' den. ²⁰ When he came near the den, he called to Danie= l 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?" = ²¹ Daniel answered, "O king, live forever! ²² 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.

So the story ends just as we hoped it would—for = most of us, the way we knew it would. Of course, our children must learn—and the rest of us too—that not= all endings are happy ones.

Sometimes the lions have their way. They carry out their feast of death. But God is still with = us in those times as well.

Sometimes He saves us FROM harm. Other times, God saves us IN THE M= IDST OF harm, and sadness, sickness, and death.&nb= sp;

Mark this down: if our lives are in His hands, if we h= ave placed our trust and confidence in Him, He always saves. In life, and in death, God always = saves His children.

Here’s another “image of the lion” i= n I Peter 5:8: “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion lo= oking for someone to devour.”

This is why we worry about our children, and try to te= ach them. It’s why we keep encouraging= one another, even after we’re all grown up. It’s why we keep pointing ea= ch other to Jesus, the Savior. <= /p>

Like Daniel, Jesus spent much time in prayer; and turn= ing obediently toward Jerusalem got Him in trouble too. Jesus= was betrayed by those who claimed to be his friends—like Daniel. And though no fault could be found= in Him, He was also handed over to die.

Jesus’ lions’ den was a cross—but for Jesus, there was no escape from this horrible death—because THIS was = the Father’s will, and He knew it.

His death would serve an eternal purpose. The Heavenly Father would accompli= sh our salvation by way of His Son’s sacrifice.

When the deed was done, they removed Jesus’ mang= led body from the cross and placed it in a sealed tomb. But again, we know the story: on t= he third day, Jesus arose from that tomb-- just as alive as Daniel was when he emerged from the lion’s den. <= /span>

Jesus conquered death and the grave to say to us and t= o all people everywhere…that in Him we can find the strength to “live among the lions” without fear. If our lives are in Him, though the lions may kill the body, they ca= nnot destroy the soul.

This, friends, is why we teach the children. It’s why VBS is such a big deal. It’s why we pray = and study and worship and hear the Christian Gospel proclaimed over and over ag= ain.

This is Good News: with Jesus as Savior and Lord of our lives, with His grace, mercy, and strength, we can live…among the lio= ns! We can LIVE—abundantly, eternally—WE CAN LIVE!