If you know the Lord this evening, regardless of what is going on around us, you can have peace. The world finds that an odd thing to say, but if you know the Lord, you know it's true. When we're walking with him, when we're talking with him, he gives peace even in the midst of the storms and the trials of life, even when we are facing the lions. And in Daniel chapter six tonight, we're gonna see Daniel facing the lions. Now we talked a lot about his prayer life and his courage, his loyalty, his faith in the face of persecution by his peers who thought to use his faith against him.

They did succeed in getting him arrested. They succeeded in getting him thrown into the lion's den, but they utterly failed in destroying his testimony. They utterly failed in destroying his faith. They utterly failed in usurping his position as he was restored and they were destroyed. And God was magnified.

The devil's plans always backfire on him in the end. It was Satan that entered Judas to go to betray Jesus, and it was the betrayed Jesus who died on the cross for my sin and yours. It was the way he defeated the enemy by making our redemption possible. And then he rose again from the dead, the conquering hero. We see something maybe a bit similar in the story of Daniel thrown into the lion's den, punished for something he did not deserve, and then the next day, he came back out all in one piece as the conquering child of God.

In Psalm one, and we're going to read in Daniel in just a minute, but in Psalm one, we we see that the way of the righteous will be rewarded. The way of the unrighteous shall perish. We're told, blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful, but his delight is in law of the Lord. And in his law doth he meditate day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that giveth forth his fruit in his season.

His leaf also shall not wither and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. That's you if you're a child of God. You are the blessed man that has chosen the Lord. But the ungodly, verse four, are not so. They're like the chaff which the wind driveth away.

Therefore, the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. The Lord knoweth the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish. God keeps his promises. God is trustworthy, and what God has said will come to pass. I'm not sure if Daniel knew Psalm one.

He may have because David wrote that many years before Daniel was born. But Daniel lived it. The way of the righteous are rewarded of the Lord, but the way of the ungodly shall perish. And that's what we see in the story of the lion's den this evening. So Daniel chapter six and verse 17, and a stone was brought and laid upon the mouth of the den, And the king sealed it with his own signet, with the signet of his lords, that the purpose not might not be changed concerning Daniel.

Did did Darius' purpose did that really affect anything? Who overruled? God did. Because you see, the signet was used, the thing was sealed, that it might not be changed, and who changed it? God changed it.

The next day, Daniel came back out of there. 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. The king arose very early in the morning and he went in haste under the den of lions. When he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel. And the king spake and said, oh, to Daniel, Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God whom thou servest continually able to deliver thee from the lions.

Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live forever. My God has sent his angel, has shut the lions' mouths that they have not hurt me. For as much as before him innocency was found in me and also before thee, O king, I have done no hurt. So Daniel had a nice bed to sleep on that night in the den of lions, probably a couple of lions. And Darius didn't sleep at all.

The king was exceeding glad for him, verse 23, and commanded that they should take Daniel out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den and no matter of hurt was found upon him because he believed in his God. I focused on that a little bit last week. Faith matters, doesn't it? Not only does faith matter, but the object of your faith matters.

Now the world likes to throw around the word faith a lot. I've heard quite of that quite a bit lately. They don't tell you who to have faith in, and it matters because there's only one who can save us, who saved Daniel. 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 or ever they came to the bottom of the den.

Lest you think for one moment that those lion lions weren't all that ferocious. Well, now you know. They were hungry, but they had a master that made them wait. The next day, they got their fill. Just a few things this evening, a few thoughts from the passage.

We'll come back to verse 25 in just a moment. First of all, facing the lions alone. I say facing the lions alone, but but was Daniel really alone? The answer to that is no. He wasn't.

This evening, the San Francisco 49ers are facing the Detroit lions. I don't know how that'll turn out. What lions will you face? When? Where?

How? They will be scary. That's the way lions are. How will you react? Bible doesn't say that Daniel wasn't at least a little bit scared.

I would imagine he was as they were dropping him into that pit with those lions. You know, it is possible to trust the Lord and still be a little bit scared. That's where courage kicks in. Courage kicks in not when things are easy, but when times are hard and when things are scary. And I'm sure there was a little bit of little bit of concern in Daniel's heart.

It was it's as certain as Daniel faced his lions that we will face ours, especially if you wish to serve the Lord. Because there's an enemy out there that doesn't want you doing that. And he is going to try to stop you. Some lions you may face may be on account of following the Lord directly in the way of persecution. Paul faced a lot of that throughout his ministry.

Paul did not go looking for trouble, but trouble often found him because the devil has his minions everywhere like those Daniel faced here, and Satan needed to shut Paul up. And time and time again, Satan what? He failed because greater is he that's in us than he that's in the world. Some lions may come in the form of illness or loss or financial difficulties or domestic conflicts or or slander. They may not be a face to face, head on persecution type of thing, but nonetheless, menacing and terrifying at the time and sometimes challenging to our faith.

Consider Job. Consider Job's lions. No. There wasn't a den, and there weren't lions in the den, and he got tossed in. But there is an enemy, God's enemy, my enemy, your enemy, Job's enemy.

He's roaming about as a lion seeking whom he may devour. He he came to God accusing the brethren, accusing us. God says, are you considered Job? Satan says, yeah. Well, you know, look.

Look at what you've done for Job. No wonder he he he's loyal to you. You gave him all this stuff and he has this wonderful property and money and family and Satan says, you take that away, he'll curse you. And God said what? He said, go ahead.

Go ahead. Now is that because God hated Job? No. God loved Job. But he let Satan he let Satan do it.

He took away his belongings. He took away his servants. He took away his children. And that is far and away the worst thing that happened to Job. And then he took away his health.

Job faced his lions. They were just of a different sort. And they were scary as he sat there in that ash heap scraping the sores on his body while his wife told him to curse God and die. Haven't you had enough? I'm sure she was a little bit bitter over the loss of 10 children, but not Job.

The Lord has given and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. I'm sure Daniel was a little stressed out when he was tossed in that pit like Job was tossed in his and very relieved when God stopped the lions from turning him into a quick snack as Job was when the trial was over. And after God rebuked him a bit, he got back twice what he started with. Like Daniel, we need not fear what man can do unto us or whatever lions we are facing in life because we do not face them alone like David did not face Goliath alone.

How could David walk up to Goliath and say, you've got it wrong. You're not feeding us to the birds and the scavengers of the field. It's going to be the other way around. Was it because Daniel was so confident in his skill with a sling or was it because David was so confident that as he stood there before Goliath, he wasn't standing alone? And I think it was the latter and not the former.

Daniel didn't stand alone. His three friends didn't stand alone once they got tossed in the fiery furnace. And whether it's the fiery furnace or the den of lions, trouble will come particularly for those serving the Lord, but God will be there. And if you'll trust him, put your faith in him while the king frets and paces and is in misery, you'll be at rest, at perfect peace, the song I just sang. So God said to Joshua, be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed, for the Lord thy God is with thee, whithersoever thou goest.

So God said to Jeremiah, he said, be not afraid of their faces, for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord. Now Jeremiah didn't face lions, he faced kings who wanted to kill him. They threw him in jail. They threw him in a pit. But God sustained him.

God told him he would. Don't be afraid of them. They may look mean, nasty, but I'm greater than they are. Silly as it may seem to some of you, not so much to me, One of David Jeremiah's lions was flying away from his family. He traveled a lot in his ministry and he had to get on a plane a lot.

And early on in his ministry, it really bothered him flying. He wasn't just wasn't all that comfortable. He thought with, well, what was going to happen to his family if something happened to him? But then he finally grasped that God was with him, that God was with his family, and that nothing would happen to him apart from God's plan. Until his race was run, his race would continue.

And when his race was run, then it was time to go home. And he found peace, even 30,000 feet and a hollow metal tube with wings sticking out. I'm not very fond of flying if you gather that myself. I understand. We all have our lions.

We all have things that scare us. Some things scare you more than others and vice versa. But just remember, the lions have a master. And in the end, they all answer to him. They all answer to him.

In James one two through four, James reminds us, he says, count all joy when you fall into diverse temptations or trials, knowing this that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work that you may be perfect and entire wanting or lacking nothing. What is James saying? When you face the lions, remember, if the lions are there, there's a reason. And God doesn't send his children to face the lions alone.

And God doesn't send his children to face the lions without a reason and without something good that can come from it. Romans eight twenty eight, for we know that all things work together for good. To them that love the Lord, to those are who are the called according to his purpose. The terrible things which catch us in life unawares and threaten our peace and health and happiness, They have their place in the story of our life just as they did in Daniel's. Looking back, we can see some of those things and things that were scary at the time, things that we thought, oh, this is just terrible.

I'm not going to survive. I'm I'm never going to be happy, and life is just messed up. And and now you look back and you go, well, guess what? I survived. I'm okay.

A matter of fact, I learned something. I'm stronger. I have life lessons I can share with others who might find themselves in the same place. God has a purpose for the lions. We don't have to cower in fear.

Did Daniel benefit, you think, in the end from his difficult trial? I don't think there's any doubt Daniel benefited from the lions. His enemies were destroyed, and he rose in favor with the king. I mean, not not only did his his enemies not win, his enemies were destroyed. They were gone.

His faith was further strengthened. I'm sure there was just a little bit of concern when they threw him in that lion's den. But he came out a stronger Christian, a stronger believer than when he went in because he further saw the power and the love and the faithfulness of his God. And boy, did he have a story to tell. Some of you are storytellers.

It seems to me Daniel was one of them because I mean, this book is his stories. And boy, did he have a story to tell. Did others around Daniel benefit from the lions? You see, the trials have a purpose. Their purpose to bring glory to God, their purpose to benefit us, but there also is a purpose often to benefit others.

You cannot discount the effect that your sufferings might have for someone else. And that alone makes it worth it. Now, again, as I mentioned this morning, we're naturally selfish beings. And when we face the lions and the trials come, the first person we think about usually is poor old me. What's in it for me?

Lord, why me? But you know something? I'm not the only person alive on this earth, am I? And part of the reason I'm here is for others. And if my suffering benefits them, guess what?

That's okay. My savior suffered for my benefit. I'm really happy about that. Why should I feel so bothered that maybe I should have to suffer a little for the sake of my Lord or to be benefit to others? Did others benefit from Daniel and the lions?

Yes, they did. They saw the power of God. Daniel took a stand, and what happened? Because Daniel took a stand, because Daniel trusted the Lord, because Daniel got thrown into a pit of lions, others saw the power of God in bringing him back out of that den in one piece, particularly Darius who praised the Lord following. Not sure what Darius did with God in the end, but he was certainly blessed with seeing something amazing, like his predecessor, Nebuchadnezzar.

They observed the faithfulness of God to those who trusted in him, and that's of great value. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father which is in heaven. Was the Lord glorified in the lion's den? Yes, he was. And his testimony was amplified by it.

Daniel six verse 25. Then king Darius who wrote unto all people, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth, peace be multiplied unto you. I make a decree that in every dominion of my kingdom, men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel for he is the living God and steadfast forever. His kingdom, that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end. He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.

In David Jeremiah's book, he asked, can you imagine that decree coming from the White House? And yet that decree came from a thoroughly pagan king to a kingdom bigger than ours. What an amazing story. What an amazing turn of events because a man was simply willing in the quiet of his own home, nonetheless, to just get on his knees and pray. And look what happened.

He prayed, God answered, and God was magnified. And many beginning with Darius and even before people in the kingdom that lived thousands of miles away when they got the decree from Darius that said this, what a testimony. Was it worth the lions? Yeah. I think so.

The lions were not their own masters that day nor the keepers who kept them, but the God who made them. And we need to keep that also in mind when we face our own. In the end, God is on His throne. And if He permits, there is a reason for it. Trust Him.

So we see, first of all, facing the lions alone, not really alone. The Lord of the lions, and finally, we see the lions had their fill. Daniel was taken up out of the pit and the enemies were thrown in. They weren't just the enemies of Daniel, they were also the enemies of who? They were the enemies of God.

In the Bible, in Romans 12, God says, revenge not yourselves, but give place to the Lord. Vengeance is mine. I will repay, saith the Lord. It wasn't Daniel's prerogative to get vengeance. He simply let God take care of his enemies, and God did in God's time.

Not before Daniel got arrested, not before Daniel got thrown into the pit with the lions. However, in the end, God took care of it all. And you can be assured that God is going to take care of all tear of it all for who? For us. For those we read about in the book of Revelation, the 144,000 that are sealed witnesses for Christ.

The others who are who refuse to take of the mark of the beast and turn to Christ during the tribulation, they will be hunted down. But they will win. Satan will lose. The antichrist will lose, and we will win. Like we see in the remainder of the book of Daniel, the enemies will come against God and his people in this world.

And they will at times be ferocious, but in the end, the lions will get them and not us. For we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. I can't remember where I read this at the end of the service last Sunday or not, but I'm gonna read it here again. Matthew 13 beginning in verse 40. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, that's that's the weeds that didn't belong in the field that Satan planted there, the enemies of the Lord.

At his return, the tares will be gathered and burned in the fire, so shall it be at the end of this world. Son of man shall send forth his angels. They shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend and them which do iniquity. Shall cast them into a furnace of fire and there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun as the sun in the kingdom of their father.

Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. And those whose names were written in the book of life were not cast into the lake of fire. The lions may scare us. The enemies may trod upon us. But in the end, we have the victory in Jesus Christ.

He is on our side. Even when we face the lions, he is on our side. Let's pray. Dear heavenly father, thank you, Lord, for all that you've done for us, for Jesus who suffered for us, who faced the lions for us and won. Thank you.

Forgive us, Lord, for our weak faith. Forgive us for giving into our fear. Help us, Lord, to not be scared of the lions, the trials, the enemies, but to face them with courage and reliance upon the Lord who is master of them all, who loves us, and who is in control. And use us to point others to Jesus Christ and the path of blessing and eternal life. In Jesus' name we do pray.

Amen.