Facing the Lions in Your Life

1st Sunday of End Time, Reformation Sunday 11/1/20 Daniel 6:10-12, 16-23 Facing the Lions in Your Life I. They appear in many forms. II. Your God guards and keeps you. Human logic leads us to think: If God is almighty, and his people are doing his work and standing firmly on the truth of his word, then he should bless them with happiness and success. But the reality is the opposite. Yes, our God is almighty, but standing firmly on the truth of his word is not an easy stance to take. In fact, it’s the quickest path to opposition, even deadly opposition. For instance, God’s prophet Isaiah was faithful to the Lord during some of Israel’s worst days, calling the people to repent. Legend maintains that he died when one of Israel’s kings had him sawed in two. John the Baptist boldly called King Herod to repent, and was beheaded. Stephen faced stiff opposition from powerful Jewish men, and, when he refused to back down, they stoned him to death. One of the men at that stoning was a man named Saul. We know him better as Paul, who became the greatest missionary in Christian history, and was put to death for it by Nero. His fellow apostle, Peter, was crucified upside down for refusing to deny Jesus as his Savior. It’s not easy standing firmly on the truth of God’s word. But we praise and thank God for giving Christian men and women down through the centuries the strength of faith to suffer all, even death, rather than compromise the truth of God. Today we specifically praise and thank God for his servant Martin Luther and for the fact that we bear his name as Lutheran Christians. Four hundred ninety-nine years ago Luther stood before his king and would not compromise the truth of God’s word. Almost 3,000 years ago Daniel did the same. In this morning’s sermon text, we heard how Daniel chose to face the lions rather than compromise his faith. How many of us would do the same? We’re thankful that we will probably never face lions in a den as Daniel did. But we do face other lions in our modern world. On the basis of this portion of God’s word, let’s examine the daily reality of facing the lions in your life, and how your God sustains you just as he did Daniel. Part I. There are ways of avoiding persecution that don’t compromise your firm stance on the word of God. For instance, if I told you I was planning to seek out a radical group of Muslim terrorists and proclaim to the members of that group that they are going to hell if they don’t repent and trust in Jesus as their Savior, you would probably advise me to just stay home. In fact, you might tell me that I am putting the Lord to the test. And you’d be right. But didn’t Daniel do something similar to that? The edict that King Darius had recently put into effect stated that, for the next 30 days, anyone who prays to any god or man except to the king would be thrown in the lions’ den. Daniel’s opponents in the Persian government were behind this plot to bring Daniel down, and they played on their king’s ego to accomplish their goal. But think about it for a moment. Daniel had options to avoid persecution, to avoid facing the lions. The edict was only in effect for a month. Daniel could have gone a month without praying. Or, he could have gone into his house and shut his door and sat in his chair and closed his eyes and prayed silently to the one true God. No one would have known. He could have done his praying at night when his opponents were all at home in bed. But listen again to what Daniel did, “Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, to giving thanks his God, just as he had done before. Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help.” He didn’t change a thing. He prayed not once, not twice, but three times a day. And he did it in full view of everyone from an exposed high point of his house. His opponents were counting on Daniel to do just that. And they weren’t disappointed. He prayed his way right into their trap. And he paid the price. The law was clear, and it couldn’t be repealed. The king, who knew he had been had by his officials and who knew how loyal Daniel was, looked for legal loopholes for the rest of the day, but was unsuccessful. As night began to fall, the king gave the order and Daniel was led away to the lions’ den. It appeared that Daniel was about to pay the price for loyalty to his God. So, why wouldn’t Daniel change his prayer habits just a little so that he could live to see another day? Because he knew that to do so would be a form of denial of his God. For Daniel to compromise his prayer life in this situation would have been a denial of his faith. The only true God does not call on us to stand firmly on his word when it’s comfortable to do so. He calls on us to stand firmly on his word even when facing lions. What are the lions in your life? Have you lost a relationship because you chose to remain morally pure? Have you been passed up for promotions because you wouldn’t play the dishonest company game? Have you lost of friend because you wouldn’t join them in their sinful talking or walking? As hurtful as those situations are, we wish that were always the case—that we suffered for standing firmly on God’s word. But too often, the opposite is the case. We decide to compromise in order to help our position. Fitting in with others is more important at the moment than living up to the name “child of God.” And we bring shame, not praise, to our Savior. For all those times when we fled our lions rather than face them, we need to join Daniel in prayer on our knees as he did, and humbly beg for our holy God’s mercy and forgiveness. And that’s exactly what he grants to his sinful children—forgiveness—through the life, death and resurrection of our Savior who always stood firmly on the word of his Father. And with the assurance of that forgiveness, we have the opportunity to ask ourselves what our Lord means to us. What is the truth of his word worth to me? Our celebration of Luther’s Reformation gives us the opportunity to consider how blessed we are to have God’s word in its truth and purity. Lord, help us cherish your truth! Help us hold firm to it as we face our lions! Part II. There are times when godly statements come from the most unexpected sources. For instance, Caiaphas, the high priest, advised the leaders of the Jews that it was better for one man to die, than for the whole nation of Jews to perish. That was God’s plan of salvation all along! Likewise, King Darius made such a godly statement, even though he wasn’t the least bit devoted to the one, true God. He declared to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!” In the king’s way of thinking, a man as devoted to his God as Daniel was deserved to be rescued by his God. But Daniel knew otherwise. He knew he deserved nothing good from his God, and yet his God had promised to send him a Savior from sin. Daniel trusted that saving promise of God and lived his life as a reflection of his faith in that promise. And now living his faith meant trusting in his God. That trust assured him of one of two things. One, if the next few minutes were the last minutes in Daniel’s life, then, immediately upon his death, he would join his Lord in heaven. Daniel was absolutely certain of life in heaven with his God. The other thing he trusted was that, if it were God’s will, he would continue life on this earth as he served his God by serving the King of Persia and the Jewish people in exile. Daniel’s faith placed his life into the hands of his almighty God, and Daniel wasn’t disappointed. Do you think Daniel slept well that night? I’d like to think he did, as he came to know that the angels had shut the lions’ mouths. Daniel faced his lions, trusting that his God would guard and keep him. How likely are you to do the same when facing your lions? Notice that Daniel’s trust in the Lord didn’t paint the Lord into a corner. His faith didn’t make any demands about the way he expected things to turn out for him. He trusted that the Lord would do what was best for him. Daniel’s only action in this situation was to be faithful to his Lord. And that he was! Even his king and his opponents witnessed it. When commanded to recant or be excommunicated from the church, Martin Luther didn’t flinch. He stood firmly on God’s word and declared, “Here I stand. So help me God.” And you are and I are the recipients of God’s blessings through him. We still stand firmly on the word of our God. But what will that mean for you in the week ahead? How about trusting the word of God regarding the future of our country? God will bless us or withhold his blessings from us as he sees fit for our good, and that’s not dependent on the outcome of this election or any other. The Lord Jesus will still be King of kings on Nov. 4. When given the opportunity in the week ahead to say the right thing or do the right thing, even though it might cost you, trust in the Lord your God to guard and protect you as Daniel did and to bless your godly decision. But don’t fool yourself into thinking that you can always do that perfectly. Only Jesus did, and now, as a redeemed and forgiven child of God, you have the opportunity to face your lions and overcome them as you trust your God to guard and keep you. Here we stand, so help us God! Amen.