The Mouths of Lions

Introduction

Four hundred and fifty years ago this past week, Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, one of the leaders of the English Reformation, and a version of whose words we use later in this Communion Service, was burnt to death in a ditch outside Oxford for his biblical views. Yes he’d earlier recanted his views under pressure from the authorities of Mary Tudor, but he finally courageously defied the authorities before a packed crowd in the University church of Oxford in 1556. There he made a final passionate confession of his faith in Christ and rejected the then pope ‘as Christ’s enemy and antichrist with all his false doctrines’, before being dragged through the streets by enraged officials.

At the stake, Cranmer was stripped and chained and as the fire began to take hold, he stretched out his right hand into the flames, the hand which had previously signed his recantations, saying: “This unworthy right hand…this hand has offended.” He died quickly with the words of Stephen on his lips: “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit…I see heavens open and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.” At the time it appeared that the English Reformation was now in tatters. But far from being a defeat, Cranmer’s martyrdom was a victory. His death and that of Latimer and Ridley for their faith and clear commitment to the Christian gospel, had a much greater impact upon the future direction of Christianity in England than if they’d been granted a full span of years. Within three years a new Queen was on the throne who would rebuild that for which Cranmer had laboured. God is sovereign, as we learn throughout the book of Daniel. But we are to play our part - in the Bible God’s sovereignty and our responsibility go together.

You may have heard in the news this past week that an Afghan was facing death for converting to Christianity. Abdul Rahman was charged in a Kabul court with rejecting Islam. Mr Rahman didn’t try to revert to Islam in order to save his life but rather told the court that he converted to Christianity sixteen years ago. In the lion’s den he awaited the judge’s verdict. That verdict came today – on the grounds of insufficient evidence his case has been referred to the Attorney General, which will probably lead to his release. God answers prayer and reigns over the Kabul judiciary.

In this country Christians have been investigated by the police for standing up for Christian sexual ethics. And there is a continual need for Christians to stand out and stand up for God today. It emerged this week, for example, that every school in England is to have a nurse attached to them who can arrange secret abortions and hand out contraception. New guidelines will allow them to help pupils get the morning-after pill, pregnancy tests and terminations without their parents’ knowledge. So much for Mother’s Day! The plans were unveiled a day after Gordon Brown’s Budget cut tax on condoms and the morning-after pill. Christian doctors, nurses, pharmacists, health educators need to stand up for God’s Word on these matters, even if it means going against the authorities. You may find yourself in the lions’ den as a result just as Daniel did literally for obeying God and not men in continuing to pray to and serve the one true God, in spite of a royal decree which forbid him doing so. But as we learnt in Home Groups this week – ‘we are to shine like stars in this crooked and depraved generation as God works in us to will and to act according to his good purpose’ (Philippians 2:13-15). So:


First, HOW DO WE STAND OUT AND STAND UP FOR GOD?

How do we stand out and stand up for God in Babylon today - wherever God has put us - in the workplace, at school, at university, at home, in our communities, on an Easter holiday and whatever age we are – whether we’re 18 or 80? For there’s no such thing as retirement in God’s service. Yes you might do less physically as you get older and your work might be different, but you don’t stop serving the Lord. Indeed if you’ve put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ you have been called to serve him forever and ever.

Cranmer was sixty six years old when he was burnt at the stake. Norman Kember, a devout Christian, was seventy four years old when he went to Iraq last year as part of a Christian peacemaker team. We praise God for his rescue this past week, from the lions’ den of extreme Islamic terrorists, by British and American Special Forces. From v28 of Daniel 6 we know that Daniel was probably in his eighties when he was put in the lions’ den, as the reign of Cyrus began in 539 BC, sixty six years after Daniel had been brought to Babylon in 605 BC. (I should add at this point for the sake of clarity that the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus were very likely one and the same with Darius being Cyrus’ throne name in Babylon. V28 probably should read: “So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius, that is, the reign of Cyrus the Persian.”)

So Daniel 6 is a message to each one of us here tonight however old we are. We are never too old or too young to stand out and stand up for God. And the first point to make from this chapter in answer to the question – how do we stand out and stand up for God – is this:

a) by serving God continually (v1-10; 16&20)

That’s how King Darius describes Daniel in verses 16 and 20: as someone who served God continually, wherever he was and whatever happened. He served God continually at work, as one of the three administrators who were directly responsible to Darius and who were over the 120 satraps or local governors of Babylon (v1-2). He served God continually at home too (v10). Look at that verse:

“Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened towards Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.”

So Daniel served God continually both in public and in private. He prayed ‘just as he had done before’ in spite of the decree. His godly living was regular and consistent even when he was in a minority of one and even when he was being plotted against. He served God continually even when it meant being thrown in the lions’ den. And he trusted God even in that place of danger (v23).

Is our Christian life at work and at home consistent with our church life? Do we serve God continually both in public and in private? Do people say of you – you serve your God continually? In other words do people notice? If you were put on trial for being a Christian would there be enough evidence to convict you? Our faith should make a difference to the way we conduct ourselves. It was key to Daniel’s witness at work. At work Daniel’s faith, character, work ethic and excellence led him to be respected by Darius. Look first at v2:

“The satraps were made accountable to [Daniel and the other two administrators] so that the king might not suffer loss.”

He was obviously trusted by his boss, so to speak. Now look at v3:

“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.”

Daniel shone like a star in his work. Do you? Are you distinguished by the quality of your work and your attitude to it? Do you, whether it’s work at work or work at home, ‘work at it with all your heart, as if working for the Lord’, as Paul tells the Colossians (3:23)? Christian integrity is important when you come to share your faith or stand up for God in your place of work, otherwise people won’t take any notice.

Daniel’s exceptional qualities were such that others certainly took note of him. The king wanted to promote him – to set him over the whole kingdom. His colleagues and those under him became so worried by this possibility and jealous of Daniel that they began to try and find grounds to get rid of him. Being a Christian at work, working hard and well will not mean that everyone will like you, perhaps especially if the boss favours you! Not everyone will want to hear the gospel however brightly you shine. As John puts it in his Gospel, “men love darkness instead of light because their deeds are evil.” (John 3:19) Look at v4&5:

“The administrators and satraps could find no grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent.”

O for a Daniel as Prime Minister today! No cash for peerages with him! If you’re a leader at work or at church are you a Daniel? Are you trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent? But those qualities did not stop these men plotting against Daniel and deceiving Darius. They knew that their only hope lay in employing Daniel’s well known spiritual strength as a political weakness, knowing that he would obey God rather than men (v5). This they did by turning the king’s spiritual weakness into their own political strength (v6-7). So the second point to make in answer to the question – how do we stand out and stand up for God in Babylon today – is this:

b) by obeying God rather than me(v10-12)

But look first at v7:

“The royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers and governors have all agreed [which was a lie as Daniel hadn’t agreed] that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or man during the next thirty days, except to you O king, shall be thrown into the lions’ den.”

That was the decree King Darius put in writing, which could not be repealed (v8&9).

So all Daniel had to do to stay out of the lion’s den was go for a month without vocal prayer. He could have prayed silently behind closed windows and stayed out of reach of hungry lions. However Daniel had no intention of compromising God’s Word. He realized that any gain made at the price of faithfulness to God’s Word proves ultimately to be loss as Paul was to discover (Philippians 3:7-8).

Daniel was going to pray to God just as he had done before. His public relationship with God was not suddenly to be hidden and restricted to something private. V10:

“Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened towards Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.”

Even in the context of great personal danger he still prayed openly three times a day, morning, noon and evening, giving thanks to God. He obeyed God, not men. And one reason why was his prayer life. He depended on God. He could not survive in Babylon without praying to God and asking God for help (v11).

What is our prayer life like? If it’s irregular is that one reason why we don’t put our head above the parapet for God? Because we’re not depending on God? Because we think we can live without him much of the week until church again on Sunday? Would a decree banning us from praying actually make any difference to our prayer life? It was at the heart of Daniel’s walk with God and his stand for God. Indeed we’re not told that Daniel spoke to anyone but God until v21. The picture you get here is of everyone else plotting and scheming and panicking while Daniel trusts in God, praying just as he had done before. Is that how we are when we’re under pressure and taking a stand? Surely our prayer life is a barometer of our spiritual health.


Secondly, WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE STAND OUT AND UP FOR GOD?

a) there is a cost (v13-18)

Jesus said there would be for those who take up their cross and follow him. In our Gospel reading from Matthew 10 we heard that there will be opposition and persecution from authorities and others when we go forth in the name of Christ. Look at Matthew 10:17-33 for a moment. “A student is not above his teacher”, said Jesus. But we are not to “be afraid of those who kill the body but who cannot kill the soul”. Rather we’re to “be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell”. “Whoever disowns me before men”, says Jesus, “I will disown him before my Father in heaven.” “Men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.” Daniel was hated by his colleagues but he stood firm and doesn’t appear to have been afraid. We too are to stand firm in Christ. There’s no need to be afraid. Look at v13-18 of Daniel 6. Daniel was found to have broken the decree, his reliability through his trust in God was now categorized as rebellion by his enemies (v13), and much to the dismay of Darius he was thrown into the lions’ den. V16&17:

“So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ 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.”

Now let’s be clear here. Daniel was in very serious danger. I don’t know if you’ve ever been in an actual lions’ den. I guess if you had you might not be here! I’ve been in a lion cubs’ den with my children in South Africa. They were playful but even at that age their fangs looked as though they could finish us off pretty quickly. And we had the security of a fast exit, two guards and a knowledge that these cubs had been very well fed! Daniel’s adult lions were hungry – we know that from v24 - and there was no way he could escape out of the den on his own. So there is a cost to taking a stand which might well involve some kind of danger. But we’re not to be afraid because:

b) God is with us and is in control (v19-24)

So we are to trust God even in times of great danger. That’s what Daniel did (v23). That’s what Jesus tells us to do in Matthew 10. Look again at Matthew 10:17-33. The Holy Spirit will give you the words to say (v20), God is in control (v29), his will will be done (v29), you are worth more than many sparrows to your Father in heaven (v31) and you, through genuine faith in Christ, have a place in heaven (v32). Those people who oppose you can kill the body but not the soul (v28), as we heard in relation to Thomas Cranmer. In Daniel 7:14 we read that God’s dominion “is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.” And in Daniel 7:18 we learn that “the saints of the Most High [those who trust in Christ] will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever – yes, for ever and ever.” We are to live by faith in a God who is with us, who is in control and who we will be with, worship and serve for eternity. What have we got to lose eternally?

Daniel was rescued from the lions. He was shielded by the power of God through faith. That’s how Hebrews 11:33 puts it: “the prophets [of whom Daniel was one], who through faith [in God] shut the mouths of lions.” Look at v23:

“…when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.”

But note, Daniel wasn’t shielded by the power of God through faith from danger but rather in danger. In answer to Darius’ question in v20, God is able. He reigns not only over kingdoms, in fiery trials and over kings but also over wild beasts. As Daniel tells Darius in v21, bearing no malice:

“O king live for ever! 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 done any wrong before you, O king.”

Those who had done wrong before the king and before God were judged. V24:

“They were thrown into the lions’ den along with their wives and children [in accordance with Persian custom]. And before they reached the floor of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.”

Daniel prospered (v28), his enemies did not. Those who oppose God and falsely accuse his people will not triumph in the end unless they humble themselves, repent and put their trust in Jesus Christ.

c) God is glorified (v25-28)

In Matthew 5:16 Jesus says, “let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Because of Daniel’s witness and God’s deliverance Darius sent out a very different decree to the whole of his empire saying that people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. V26:

“For he is the living God and he endures for ever; 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.”

God wants to use you to achieve his purposes. He wants you and me to stand out and stand up for him. As I’ve said what have we got to lose eternally by doing so? How are we going to stand for Jesus this week? So thirdly, finally and very briefly:


Thirdly, WHY STAND OUT AND UP FOR GOD?

He rules and he rescues. He has rescued many of us here tonight from hell by bringing us to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. “Therefore”, writes Paul in Romans 12:1,

“I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship.”