"From the Lions’ Den to the Angel’s Den (Daniel)" - Lesson #7 - Pastor Doug Batchelor

[Music] [Music] [Music] we know there's a recipe on this relief from every care [Music] [Music] [Music] let's bow heads for a word of Prayer dear father in heaven we thank you once again that you've given us life and strength the ability to gather in your presence on this your Sabbath and open up your word father we're looking at just a fantastic story that we have recorded in Scripture of tremendous faith and devotion and not only that of our Daniel who stood faithful to you but how you stood faithful for him and we just asked in a special way that you would guide in our study leaders in take clear a full understanding of this great passage in Jesus name Amen well as mentioned we're going to be looking at Daniel chapter 5 I believe it is so if you have your Bibles you can open it up we're gonna be looking at the story of daniel in the lion's den I'd like to might pass it back to come forward and he'll be leading in our study today morning everybody I want to welcome you to our Granite Bay Sabbath school program and Sabbath school study hour we're just so thankful that you're joining us we know we have friends that are watching from other parts of the planet that are studying with us just met a gentleman who's here this morning lives about 200 miles north of Anchorage if I'm not mistaken and 2,000 2,000 miles and he said it's thirty two below zero there today Wow so we have folks that come from all over and we're just so thankful for those who are our online members as well now our lesson today is an amazing study it's based on the book of Daniel chapter 6 now it's easy to get confused because we're on lesson 7 studying Daniels Chapter six last week we're studying Daniel chapter five we were in less than six and so you can see it sounds a little incongruous at times and the title of our lesson is from the Lions Den to the Angels Den we have a memory verse the memory verse is from Daniel 6 verse 4 you want to find your Bibles you can read it right out of your quarterly it's from the New King James Version there Daniel 6 verse 4 and you ready so the governors and the satraps sought to find some charge against Daniel concerning the kingdom but they could find no charge or fault because he was faithful nor was there any error or fault found in him all right friends put on your seatbelts we are getting ready to dive off into what I believe is one of the greatest chapters in the Bible because it talks about the greatest character in the Bible and that is not Daniel and that's Jesus the story of Daniel chapter 6 is a wonderful parallel that gives us a number of insights into Christ himself now let's go ahead just jump to the first verse and I'll have a few of you in a moment help me read a couple of verses in our study now I've just got to tell you that keep in mind a lot of people grow up they go to Sunday school or Sabbath school and they hear the story of Daniel and the Lions Den and that story is often relegated to the children and you know they'll bring in some stuff lions and and they'll reenact this cute story and but when I first read it I didn't know that it was a children's story I thought it was a story of the most magnificent theology and so I I was looking at it for its prophetic value for the Christ in the story of Daniel and it's dis ovary it's always been just such an amazing monumental story to me alright first of all this transpires shortly after chapter 5 when Babylon has fallen immediately they installed new government which is known to be the Mito government and we know that Durai Aslam heed the Longwood Cyrus the Persian worked together to bring about the downfall of Babylon and so then they established a new government and you read in Chapter six of Daniel verse one it please der ayahs to set over the kingdom 120 satraps princes who would be over the whole kingdom and over these three governors of whom Daniel was one or to be chief that the satraps might give accounts to them and that the king would suffer no loss now this is astonishing because typically when one Kingdom conquers another Kingdom the first thing they do is wipe out the cabinet the leadership that was loyal to the former King you can't have people in your new department that were loyal to the other King they might try to assassinate you in ancient kingdoms your own family might try to assassinate you so this is very unusual to Daniel who had served Nebuchadnezzar for so long is now not only being allowed to remain in this kingdom but he's given a leadership role now keep in mind word had gotten out about Daniel telling Belshazzar to take his gifts and keep them and Daniel for telling that the Medes and the Persians were going to win and so they knew there was something extraordinary about this man and he was known for his wisdom he heard of someone ever heard the expression a person being a legend in their own time Daniel was a legend while he was still alive even Ezekiel in a prophecy said thou art wiser than Daniel Daniel was a few people in the Bible are known for extraordinary wisdom Solomon is one Daniel is another of course Jesus and so Daniel was known for his wisdom and when Darius came into power he wanted Daniel as part of his cabinet but there's a problem Daniel is not a Persian he's not a median he's not a Chaldean he's a Jew and the way they found their way into Babylon was because they were brought in his captives many were made slaves and so then for for these other Medes and Persians that are running the kingdom to have a former Jewish captive and someone who had served Nebuchadnezzar giving them orders that didn't set well with them and there was some resentment and the King put so much confidence in Daniel they were frankly jealous which is one of the first sections in your lesson and says that not only that says Daniel distinguished himself I'm in verse three Daniel distinguished himself above the governors in the satraps because and some versions like Prince's these are the administrators because an excellent spirit was in him now you remember reading if you go to chapter 5 in verse 12 it says an excellent spirit knowledge and understanding within Daniel so he was he was known as being a spirit-filled man now right away you're gonna see some parallels between the story of daniel and jesus was there an effort made to get rid of jesus was there jealousy and there was resentment there was envy I've got some one's gonna help me read a verse in just a minute okay something else you'll notice these men who want to get rid of Daniel they follow him around are trying to find something wrong it says the governors and the princess ought to find some occasion this is verse 4 concerning Daniel concerning the kingdom they sought to open his file cabinet when he's not home there's got to be some place there he's pilfering money or he's not being faithful in this taxes or he's using some of the king's money for his vacation expense there's got to be a place he's double dipping or something's going on I mean everybody's got a skeleton in their closet they thought people always superimpose on others what they haven't hearts and even after the private detectives came back they said we can't find anything we looked at all the video footage we listened to his phone calls and we can't find anything this guy is the same person in public as he is in private by the way that's integrity integrity means that you are the same person that you profess to be in private as you are in public and it says they could find no fault in him neither was he any error in him now why don't you go ahead and read for me I think it said John 1838 and when he had said this he went out again to the Jews and said to them I find no fault in him at all now there were spies that were following Jesus around and even though that they were trying to find something wrong with him they couldn't find any fault now you'll notice that pilot realizes one of the reasons that Jesus had been turned over to him is Envy look at here mark chapter 1 verse 15 I'm sorry a mark mark 15 verse 8 then the multitude cried aloud saying and they asked do as you had always done for them but Pilate answered saying do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews notice for he knew that the chief priests had handed him over because of envy why did they Envy Jesus there's nothing the priest wanted more than the recognition of the crowds jesus said you pray to be seen of men you fast to be seen of men you give to be seen of men you want the glory of men who ended up getting the crowds and they said we've been trying to get this special treatment in this respect and this recognition and esteem all our lives and here is this uneducated carpenter shows up and everyone's following him and the power of God's in him and they resent it that's so much they said he doesn't have any degrees how can he do all of this they wanted to get rid of them did they want to get rid of dead because the king puts so much confidence in him he had so much power and not only that but was Daniel called spirit-filled what about Jesus is Jesus accused of being spirit filled when he's baptized what happens I saw the Spirit of God descend upon him like a dove and says God filled Christ with the Holy Spirit who went about doing good Jesus was spirit fill and so you see already now Daniel was a eunuch so how did mrs. Daniel feel about that there's no mrs. Daniel where's Daniel ever married I'm just wanting to see if you're listening Daniel was not married was Jesus ever married Daniel's love was the church he spends his time praying and interceding for God's people who was the Bride of Christ the church they read Daniel 9 you can hear him he just praying for the people and so all through the story of Daniel you're gonna see images of Jesus in here alright and so we read on now you see the plot is thickening here they say you know we're not going to get rid of them unless we find some law they could not find any charge or fault because he was faithful now is that because Daniel was a freak of nature a Kent is it possible for you and I to have that experience can we be like Daniel should we desire that wouldn't you like the Lord to look down from heaven like he did to job and say have you ever beheld someone like Joba faithful and upright man who fears God and hates evil wouldn't you like the Lord look down at you and say he's faithful he's the same person in public as he is in private or she yeah an excellent spirit was in him we're going to talk about the secret of Daniels faithfulness here and so they plot to destroy him notice what happens to Jesus you look in Matthew chapter 12 verse 14 then the Pharisees went out and they plotted against him how they might destroy him same thing that's happening to Daniel is happening to Jesus and they spied on him now keep in mind what happened to Daniel happened to Jesus will happen to you we're talking about Daniel historical we're talking about Christ we're talking about Daniel teaching us for the last days will there be a law in the last days and if we don't obey that law there'll be a death decree so the story of Daniel is really a message for the church also we need to have the kind of faith Daniel had what's Daniel a preacher well by his life but he wasn't a priest he wasn't a preacher Daniel was a businessman and he witnessed in everything he did God wants us to be faithful so that we're witnessing in our everyday lives but that gets so hard to be a Christian and such a pagan culture Daniel had to be a Christian in Babylon and medo-persia was he able to do it then what excuse do we have for not being real Christians and letting our light shine in a pagan world it really is no excuse is there so we read on the governors and the princes they throng before the king and they said to him King Darius lived forever all the governors of the kingdom and administrators and satraps and the counselors and advisers have consulted together they're lying it wasn't all of them but they wanted him to thinking they'd all agreed and they've consulted to establish a royal statute and make a firm decree miss the word firm decree the whoever petitions any God or man for 30 days except you O king shall be cast into the den of lions now that was the death decree thought I'd throw in a little amazing fact here for you for nine months between 1898 and 1899 there are two infamous man-eating Lions of Tsavo they terrorized workers employed in the construction of a rail rail way bridge in Uganda we were there in Uganda a couple years ago as the death toll rose construction was brought to a standstill you can understand why the workers refused until protection could be provided this reign of terror until the reign of terror was brought to an end they finally brought in lieutenant colonel JH Patterson he succeeded in tracking and killing the tube Lions which by that time had devoured 100 men that's a big debate about which number those Lions very real they're actually and they were stuffed and they're in the Field Museum in Chicago today and the man-eating Lions of Tsavo but that's not the worst there are times in Africa I think there's one example in Tanzania yeah where they had killed off so much of the Lions natural game that a large pride of lions developed a taste for people and they say that between 1932 and 1947 the this pride of lions in southern Tanzania devoured as many as 1,500 people I tell you though they must have been eaten you know or those were skinny people they needed to eat several that's a lot of people during that time whole pride of lions did you know that Karen was attacked and bitten by a lion in South Africa it's true we were visiting a lion park and these lion cubs attacked her leg and scratched her they did I turned around there she was we were videotaping the Lions and she was being attacked by a lion right in front of me and I did nothing to help her so when it says you're going to the Lions Den that's a diff decree if you don't pray to King Darius and you notice they just say just 30 days just 30 days they knew that Daniel they did this because they knew Daniel would not wait 30 days to continue his regular practice of Prayer that's wonderful they said we don't need a one-year law it's only gonna take a month for him to come out of the closet a lot of us would be quoting that verse for Jesus as enter into your closet and pray but Daniel was not going to do that so they make this death decree there for the King Darius isin this King seems to be a good King he's about 62 years old Bible tells us and that's how old I am and what a coincidence but the reason they signed that law is because they believe back then that when you had people from many different backgrounds you know this is a massive Kingdom that says there's a hundred and twenty provinces and and by the time of Esther I think it's 127 provinces stretches it all through parts of Europe and Africa in the Middle East and he's got to administrate all these different peoples different languages different cultures and customs and it's hard to unite people with all those differences except through common worship Alexander the Great he went to Egypt he realized that the pharaohs were worshipped as gods they knew they were not gods but they were worshipped as gods so that they could bring the kingdom together so Alexander declared he was a God as he went off into Persia to conquer augustus caesar octavian they said you know you've got all this these different countries you conquered if you want to bring them together caesar needs to be respected as a god so they started claiming divinity i'm sure at the end of the day they knew they were not gods but they thought well if we make the people worship us they'll respect us more and it keeps the nations together so they said this will weld together the kingdom common worship he said okay if you guys say so does nebuchadnezzar try to bring everyone together through common worship in chapter 3 will there be an effort to bring the world together through common worship in Revelation 13 and last days so we can look at Daniel chapter 6 and maybe get some ideas on how to how to survive that so the King signs the decree it's a royal decree a firm statute and this to me is one of the most magnificent verses in the book now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed he went home and in his upper room with his window open toward Jerusalem he knelt down on his knees three times that day and prayed and gave thanks before his God as was his custom since early times Daniel knowing about the writing you would think this would be a good time to at least close your windows see everyone in the capitol city knew about Daniel he was famous before the Babylonians were conquered and they knew that just like I forget where I was in Salzburg Austria or some of these towns in Europe they've got these courtyards and in the courtyard they've got these magnificent clocks there we call them cuckoo clocks and some are very elaborate at certain times of the day every hour people will all start to gather out there and you know watch in the courtyard and the look up and on the hour all of a sudden it starts to ding and just as it's dinging these little doors open up and and these people come out and they like you know they dance or they you know play a fiddle and they they circle around and they do very creative these puppets that come out on the top of the hour and they do these amazing things I've seen several of them and Daniel was as faithful as a cuckoo clock just every day no matter what the weather three times a day they saw his windows open up they saw him come out where they could all see him he knelt upon his knees he prayed towards Jerusalem which was to the west and he gave thanks and people in the neighborhood when they wanted to know what time it was it says Daniel come out yet oh it's best what time it is he was just he could say he was a legalist about prayer you know what religion is everyone says I'm not religious but I'm spiritual Daniel was religious he had a habit and whether he felt like it or not he said I have my regular devotions the reason the Book of Daniel is in the Bible is because of chapter 6 verse 10 in my opinion his devotional life his devotion to God his faithfulness to God the reason that Daniel did not eat unclean food in Chapter 1 is because he read the Bible if you read in Daniel chapter 9 it says I was reading in the books of Jeremiah the reason oh I'm getting ahead of you here someone's going to read for me let's see no I want someone to read from me Psalm 55 verse 17 is one of you have that one yeah how do we know that Daniel read the Bible why do you think Daniel prayed towards Jerusalem because it says in the Bible and second Chronicles if your people are carried away to this place if they pray towards this place Solomon said when he dedicated the temple at second Chronicles 621 Daniel read that so he literally did what the Bible said why did he pray three times a day go ahead read for a psalm 55:17 evening in morning and at noon I will pray and cry aloud and he shall hear in my voice that's King David David lived of course a long time before Daniel Daniel read where David said morning evening and at noon I will pray Daniel did exactly what the Bible said why could Shadrach Meshach and Abednego make it through the fiery furnace they read where Isaiah said when you pass through the fires I will be with you the flame will not Kindle upon you they were Bible reading they were people of Prayer and they put into practice what they read now I can't help but wonder if there was a law and suddenly for some bizarre reason a new law is issued by our government or our governor that could happen in California anything we never know from day to day what the next law is gonna be I better not comment on that I just heard the voice of prudence and she said don't say that but if for some reason there was a law and it said you can't go to your prayer meeting at your church for 30 days are you gonna go to prison I wonder what would happen to our prayer meeting attendance we're better than those but still for most churches prayer meeting is usually pretty scant and but you wonder how many people would say oh you know probably better not to aggravate the government right now or would we say I don't care what the government says my relationship with God is more important than even my own life I mean why couldn't Daniel close his windows was he a fanatic or what what are you looking for trouble or maybe he said I'm almost 90 what difference does it make I his courage is amazing he's he is so bold he is so undaunted that just think of all the opportunities Daniel had to compromise you know you could have gone to his upper room and prayed kept the windows closed he didn't have to pray out loud the reason they knew he was praying is because he they heard him how did they know he was giving thanks he can close your eyes if you're praying with your eyes closed I didn't tell what you're saying but they knew he was giving thanks because he was audible they heard him they saw him he opened the windows you could say Daniel had a fresh experience a lot of us have a closed window prayer life Daniel wanted to keep it fresh he wanted to see and be seen someone's gonna read another verse for me Matthew yeah you get that one go ahead okay let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father in heaven you know Daniel knew the people in the community were used to seeing him pray three times a day and then they see on the telephone poles there in the capital if anyone is caught praying to any God or man for 30 days he's going to the Lions then death decree if you're caught praying and they're all thinking ooh wonder what Daniel is gonna do and they probably gathered in the courtyard and started watching his window and he thought you know this is not the right time for me to shut my window he said I said what are people gonna think if you've got to make a decision and say you know I want to obey the laws of the land and Christians should obey the laws of land but what happens if the laws of the land conflict with the law of God God's law always Trump's the law of the land I didn't mean that to be a pun the law of God it doesn't Peters saying we ought to obey God rather than man and Daniel's very respectful of the government laws but he said I'm not gonna put God second place and Daniel said people are gonna be watching me and I want to be a witness you know people are watching you when you don't know they're watching you especially now not just in Daniels day now this cameras go on all the time and if you're about to do something stupid be sure someone's gonna take out their phone just before you do and they're gonna press record it seems like everybody is recording everything these days let your light so shine now he had a custom it says he had done this since early days first of all notice he's in the upper room did Jesus pray with his disciples in an upper room before a great trial and he also had a deep moment of prayer in the garden before a great trial daniel has a great season of Prayer before a great trial knelt down I won't say a lot about that but the Bible tells us that physical posture in prayer is actually important Solomon the King knelt when he prayed Paul not when he pray if hostel's knelt when they prayed not every time but I just noticed in our culture today I think people are becoming increasingly more familiar with God and casual about prayer and we forget that he is the sovereign of the cosmos and when when we bow down before him we're acknowledging that he is the king Daniel Milton and I'm getting older be honest it's it's sometimes a little harder getting down a little harder getting up I remember when I was young I could drop on my knees I could jump in the air and land on my knees didn't hurt and I could pop off my knees without just right up to my feet and now I'm coming up and then you're down on your knees and after you're done praying you're thinking is there anything else I can do down here before I get up but Daniels an old man and he still gets on his knees now I'm not trying to make any of the seniors here feel bad because you know I think that finally you know our physiology takes over and God understands that but and I don't think that God wants you on your knees praying if all you can think about when you're on your knees is how much your knees hurt and a word to elders and pastors or other people if you're leading in group prayer if there's seniors there don't pray long prayers because you lost them after about a minute and you just see see what you get to say and then let him get up so he prays as his custom was since the early days that Jesus has a custom about worship Luke 4 he came to Nazareth where he had been brought up and as his custom was it means from a child train up a child the way he will go Paul as his custom was he went to them and for three sabbath days he reasoned with them from the scriptures now you know there is a promise in the bible i think Daniel read and it says saved me from the lion's mouth and from the horns of the wild oxen that's by the way written by King David Daniel read that so when he saw the decree if you're caught praying in the next 30 days you're going to the lion's den then you'll claim that promise Lord saved me from the lion's den so he goes to his upper room a lot of things happen in the upper room opens his windows didn't need to open his windows prayed towards Jerusalem didn't need to pray towards Jerusalem opened his mouth when he prayer prayed got down on his knees everything Daniel did said I am praying probably had his back to the palace and his face to Jerusalem now there's a law that you couldn't pray for 30 days it's incredible that some people go days without praying and it is the most incredible privilege think about it that you and I can have an uninterrupted audience with the king of the universe through Christ the Bible says well Daniel look towards Jerusalem because that represented the presence of God that's where the temple was you and I don't look towards Jerusalem do we Muslims look towards Mecca you and I look up towards the heavenly sanctuary where Christ is interceding as our high priest before the father you and I have a friend in high places and to think here I can have Jesus present my request before God Almighty and not take advantage of that God is up there and he's going okay waiting to hear from you you want to talk and we're too busy down here to talk to him that's just incredible I think when we get to heaven a lot of us may still be there and we're gonna think wow I can't believe I prayed so little and I have the opportunity through Christ to commune with the Father so Daniel took advantage of that and he was busy and he still found time for prayer someone said good time for prayer is not found it's made you need to decide to do it Daniel read the Bible and he prayed let me read something to you from this is great controversy page 51 Satan well knew that the Holy Scriptures would enable men to discern his deceptions and withstand his power it was by the word that even the savior of the world had resisted his attacks at every assault I presented the shield of eternal truths saying it is written to every suggestion of the adversary he opposed in the wisdom and the power of the word in order for Satan to maintain his sway over men and establish his authority he must keep them in ignorance of the scriptures Daniel had a regular devotion life where he prayed and he read the word and that was the secret to his overcoming the law of the beast now I better move on with my story they catch him praying as you know and they go to the king and they say King do you make a law saying that if anyone you signed a petition firm decree law of the Medes and the Persians does not change if anyone prays to any God or man except more than thirty days except you O king he goes to the Lions and King his soul you know he's clueless he doesn't realize what they're up to King says yeah it's true according to the law of the Medes and the Persians which does not change then they answered and said before the king that Daniel just the way they say that Daniel who is of the captains that captive he put over us from Judah not even a Persian he doesn't show regard for you O king or the decree that you sign but he makes his petition three times a day and I can just picture right there the King groaned and signs it oh I've been duped and the king when he heard these words was greatly displeased with himself and he said is hard on Daniel to deliver him he labored worked with all this hard to try to save him he labored till the going down of the Sun what time of day did Christ die just before Sabbath going down to the Sun and then these men approached the king and they said he had to fulfill the law before the end of the day see and they go to him and say no o King that it is the law of the Medes and the Persians that there no decree or statute that the king establishes can be changed King had spent all day getting the best lawyers in the kingdom and said any loophole any loophole any way around this and they said no King you signed an ironclad agreement there is no way it is a law that cannot be changed so the king gave command and they brought Daniel and they cast him into the den of lions now think about this this to me is his his mind boggling that here you've got this earthly king he's a king I mean he is the undisputed king but he makes a law he can't change his own law do we think God the king of the universe is gonna make a law and change it you have three or four cases in the Bible of Kings or judges that made laws they didn't want to keep but they had to because their word was law you have Herod that made a promise that if his stepdaughter would come out and dance that you said anything you want up to half my kingdom it's yours she said I want the head of John the Baptist said oh I like John I'd like to go listen to him preach he didn't want to do it but everyone was watching he knew I will never have the respect to the people if I break my own word so John had to die well similarly he has he where assigns a law that all the Jews should be attacked on a certain day and another law of the Medes and the Persians and then after he signs it his wife lets him know I am a Jew and the King cannot change his law so what he does is he makes an additional law that gives them permission to attack their enemies first pre-emptive attack because he can't change the law Jephthah who is to become a judge in Israel he speaks and says whatever comes out of the doors of my house is going to be offered to the Lord if I'm victorious turns out it was a daughter he didn't expect that he thought it would be a goat or a sheep or a cow and but he can't change his word now in light of that how in the world do Protestant and Catholic Christians in the world get the idea that God changed the Ten Commandments I mean if God was going to do anything to show its permanence what more could he have done he audibly speaks in the presence of a whole nation with thunder and lightning and earthquake he then writes it with his own finger and he writes it on stone to show its enduring nature and then people say well God you know ten commandments have been done away with her they're optional like I never could figure that out I don't I just don't under how can a person fool themself into believing that so that's why I'm a seventh-day Adventist I believe in keeping all Ten Commandments and even if you're not going to keep them at least admit they're there that God doesn't change he's designed the Lord I changed not Jesus Christ the same yesterday today and forever heaven and earth will pass away my word will not pass away the King couldn't change his law so the king commanded they brought Daniel and they put him in the lion's den and the King says the Daniel your God who you serve occasionally he will deliver you now I didn't know if anyone was following me but it's not what it says I I changed a word your God who you serve when it's convenient your God who you serve when others are watching he said your God who you serve continually there was a consistency he will deliver you by the way friends if you and I consistently continually serve God he will deliver you that's a promise you can claim so they put him in the Lions and they lowered him down they could probably hear the ground shake from the roaring that was going on in there these ravenous lions doesn't say a lion this is a Lions the stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den they probably gently lowered Daniel down with a rope he's an old man I don't think the King tossed them in and then the accusers of Daniel want to make sure the Kings not going to sneak back during the night and save him so the King puts a seal on it why else did he do it he did it to show them look I'm keeping the law sealing that no one's gonna I have no I have no guards that I paid off to come rescue him during the night King seals it so there'd be no interference what time of days this happened around the going down of the Sun what time does Jesus die where's Jesus placed in the ground was there a stone put over the mouth was there a government seal that sealed the stone does Jesus come out alive what do you think is gonna happen to Daniel yeah I'm not ruining this story for you am I now the king went to his palace and he passed the night in fasting nor was music brought before him remember he was sore displeased with himself I bet you you know of course it says he's fasting he's praying what do you think the angels in heaven were doing were they playing songs in heaven when Jesus was in the tomb or when he was on the cross no there was sadness sadness in the palace then the king arose very early in the morning what time of day did the women come all the Gospels are consistent very early in the morning they come to the tomb they come to the lion's den and the King comes and he cries out with a lamenting voice he's been crying all night Daniel he says Daniel servant of the Living God as opposed to what that gods of Persia the gods of Babylon servant of the Living God the King doesn't know if Daniels God saved him yet and he still calls him the Living God servant of the Living God who you serve continually how's your God been able to deliver you from the Lions and then he hears a voice come up from the Lions Den Daniel says to the King O king live forever my God has sent his angel and shut the lion's mouth so they have not hurt me because I was found innocent before him and also I have done no wrong before you now this is amazing the angel comes who came to Shadrach Meshach and Abednego in the fiery furnace who was it that came to Daniel cause of an angel but you know sometimes when I talked about the angel of the Lord he may have sent an angel of man but don't rule out that it wasn't the same one that came to the fiery furnace jesus said if we stand up for him he will stand up for us and he says he's delivered me from the Lions who delivers us from the lion well let's back up whose lion Bible tells us in in first Peter 5:8 be sober be vigilant because your adversary the devil walks about like what a roaring lion looking for whom he might devour Psalm 91 13 14 you will tread down the lion in the Cobra the young lion and the serpent Lions serpents symbol of the devil you will trample underfoot God gave David victory over a lion he gave Samson victory over lion when they were filled with the spirit and he will give us victory over the lion that's the devil right and how did Daniel do it three times a day on his knees knowing the Word of God gave him victory the Lions could not hurt him I don't know how well he slept that night Dwight Moody says that he probably curled up and leaned against a lion that heard as he went to sleep it's hard enough to sleep with someone that snores I can't imagine sleeping with someone that roars but he was preserved now some people say the Lions weren't hungry and that's why this happened there was really no miracle here and I got time for a short story I might go along just one minute this man went to a zoo and he really wanted a job and they said well we don't have anything he said you got to give me something it's been my dream to be able to work at the zoo because I just love the animals and one of the heads board members of the zoo he said well there's one thing that's sort of strange he said anything since I if I can get on entry-level job and I work in the zoo he said okay but what happened is this weekend our chief attraction as the gorilla died and we need someone if people find that out they're not going to come we need someone to just put on a gorilla suit sit quietly in the corner you know you'll be by a food dishes move a little bit every now and they'll they'll think you're just resting since the people will keep coming until we find another gorilla I think I can do that yeah so man dresses up in this very realistic-looking gorilla suit and they in the morning he goes out in the gorilla cage and they kind of push him out and there's a glass and other people can see him and he's got the lion cage next door and he's got some zebras on the other side of him and he's got this you know concrete tree that's there for him to climb on so here the first few hours he just sits there and all the people when he comes out all that couldn't become and they're all pointing and he kind of likes it and he notices every time they move all the kids go you know this snappin pictures and he's starting to get into his job a little bit and then he starts to walk around a little bit and all bigger crowd comes and the people are all hooting and the next day he thinks you know I've got him fooled and so he starts to walk around he bounces a little bit he leans up against the tree and more crowd comes there taking pictures and they're calling everybody over no one's at any of the other exhibits because they want to watch what he's gonna do he got so full of himself he thought that he could climb the concrete tree and he gets up on the tree and everybody's looking he starts pounding on his chest like King Kong and bouncing and he got out on a limb that was over the lion's cage and people thought well this is really interesting and he starts throwing things down at the lion the lion just looks up at him and now the whole zoo is over here watching this carry on he starts to beat his chest bounce up and down and the little concrete limb that he was on snapped and he fell off into the lion cage and when he looked over and he saw the lion and he recovered himself he's not gonna get eaten he starts to say he'll help the lion ran over to him put his hand over his mouth and said be quiet you're gonna get us both fired the Lions that Daniel was with were real lions the fact they didn't eat him is because he had the Spirit of God and the angel protected him now if you wonder does this still happen in Addis Ababa Ethiopia two thousand five a girl was kidnapped by six men to be forced he was a Christian to be forced into a marriage with a Muslim and she was 12 years old and she did not want to do it she refused and so they beat her repeatedly and she ran off and the men came after her to find out that she had been surrounded by a pride of lions there were actually three female lions and the Lions chased off the men and when the family came along with a guard they confirmed that there were three lions that were guarding the girl and when they saw the family come they got up and they walked away they protected her and you can read about that yourself and it's printed in AP news which is usually pretty reputable God can still send Lions to protect this a minute in conclusion and if anyone wants more about this it'll be in my notes that we usually post it online with our Sabbath school study how was Daniel like Jesus I got 14 points real quick Jesus and Daniel will never married Daniel and Jesus both came from the royal bloodline of David remember Daniel came from the house of Hezekiah they had spies followed Daniel and Jesus from Envy it was declared of both of them there's no fault found in them they are both recognized as being spirit filled both are known for exceptional wisdom Ezekiel 28 behold you are wiser than Daniel mark 6 where did this man get this wisdom speaking of Jesus this point 7 they both Daniel and Jesus pray before a great trial Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane Daniel in his upper room they both give thanks Jesus at the Last Supper and Daniel in the upper room Daniel goes to the lion's den just before sin said Jesus goes to the cross or he dies on the cross I should say and he goes to the tomb when Daniel is in the den the palaces in mourning as heaven was for Christ a stone with a government seal is placed on the door of the tomb and on the Lions Den the king removes the stone very early in the morning the stone is taken away from the tomb very early in the morning Daniel emerges alive from the Lions Den and there's a type of resurrection just like Jonah coming out of the whale and Christ coming out of the tomb the Lions could not hurt Daniel because he was innocent and the devil could not keep Jesus in the grave it's just amazing parallels in this story between Christ and Yunel amen and so it's just one of the great story I wish I had more time I could go an hour on this I want to tell you about our study is obedience legalism this is a free offer we'd like to make available you may have missed it at the beginning and ask for offer number 7:06 you can call for it eight six six seven eight eight three nine six six is the number you'll see there on your screen and you can even download it and look at it text you can text this sh0 for one text that two four zero five four four and this is we only mail in the US territories you'll be blessed by God bless you friends and we will study his word together next week don't forget to request today's life-changing free resource not only can you receive this free gift 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Channel: Daily Hymns

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Length: 51min 55sec (3115 seconds)

Published: Thu Feb 06 2020