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Life in the Den

Good morning Saints! Good morning Sinners! My

name is Matthew Swanson, and I am a senior in the
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International Baccalaureate Program at Gateway high

school. I enjoy running, playing Frisbee and volleyball,
and playing the drums. I have been attending Community
Presbyterian for 11 years and have been a member of
Student Leadership for my entire high school career. I am
planning on attending the University of Florida this fall
and am very excited for this next stage of my life.
We pick up todays story in a time of danger in the
life of Daniel. He has been living in Babylon under pagan
rule since he was a youth. Located about 50 miles south
of present day Baghdad, Babylon had become the capital
of the Persian Empire, and gained a reputation for
ungodliness. Several of the satraps, local officials, had
appealed to king Darius about a new decree. This decree
made it illegal to worship anything other than him for 30
days. They had done this because they were jealous of
Daniel and the kings favoritism for him. They had
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investigated his past, trying to find any dirt they could

but to no avail. Daniels record was spotless. So they
decided that they had to bring him down with the one
thing he was known for; devotion to his God. Once the
king agreed to this decree, the satraps went to Daniels
house, where they found him praying as per usual, and
they went to the king to inform him of Daniels illegal
activities. Heartbroken, king Darius threw Daniel to the
lions because the laws of the Medes and Persians, the
kings own heritage, prevented kings from repealing their
own decrees. But we begin the next morning after Daniel
spent all night with the lions.
Todays text comes from Daniel 6 verses 19 through
23.
19At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried
to the lions den. 20When he came near the den, he
called to Daniel in an anguished voice, Daniel, servant of
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the

living

God,

has

your

God,

whom

you

serve

continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?

21Daniel answered, O king, live forever! 22My 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 ever done any wrong before you,
O king.
23The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift
Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from
the den, no wound was found on him, because he had
trusted in his God.
THIS IS THE WORD OF THE LORD!
Dear Lord, I ask that you use me and my words for
your divine purpose and that you set aside all distractions
that are present so we can fully grasp your meaning from
the word. In your glorious name we pray. Amen

As I was writing this sermon, pondering the various

ways I could approach the story of Daniel, something very
striking occurred to me about the character of God. The
one thing that he desires throughout the entire Bible
seems to be the only thing that we humans cannot give
him fully and that is our obedience. Adam and Eve,
Jonah, the Israelites, and even Simon Peter all fall short of
complete obedience to God. We fail as a species at each
turn to deliver the thing our creator dearly wants from us.
Deuteronomy 12:28 tells us to
28Be careful to obey all these regulations I am giving
you, so that it may always go well with you and your
children after you
This illustrates Gods desire for our obedience of his
rules as well as promises us good things to come if we
simply obey his commands. This is similar to Lukes
portrayal of obedience in his gospel where he describes
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the man that builds his house on sand, disregarding the

Lords advice, which results in his house being carried
away by the sea during a storm.
Dr. B.J. Miller once said, its easier to obey God than
to deal with the consequences of disobedience.
Daniel knew this, which he demonstrates through his
obedience to the Lord. His life had taught him that God
rewards obedience with safety and peace of mind. When
Daniel was a teenager, he was brought to Babylon along
with the most handsome, strong, and intelligent young
men in order to be indoctrinated to the ways of the
kingdom. The Lord told Daniel and the other Jews to
abstain from indulging in the feasts the king prepared
because he didnt want them to taint themselves with
lavish food. Daniel convinced the guards in charge of
feeding him and his friends to only serve them water and
vegetables. At the end of the week they were stronger
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and more fit than the other men, which God did to reward
their obedience. Now, this doesnt mean that if we drink
water and eat vegetables that God will give us all
sculpted bodies. But what it does mean is that the Lord
our God loves and rewards obedience, which Daniel
learned early on.
The story of Daniel resisting the temptation of luxury
reminds me of my second period class last year. Mr.
Sissons AP US History class had become infamous for its
daily what do you know quizzes. These short bell-works
verified whether or not the class had been keeping up on
reading and taking good notes. The class was simple
enough; read, take good notes, and get good grades.
Well, as work piled up from other classes, several of my
peers began falling into the temptation of cheating. Soon,
the what do you know became a classroom affair, with
almost every one getting answers from someone else. I
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remember thinking how easy it would be to just skip a

day of notes and get the answer from the smart girl next
to me, who was also cute; but then I realized that times
like these, when sinning would be so harmless and easy,
are the situations that test a persons obedience to God
and his call to abstain from sinning.
As we see in todays passage, Daniels trust in the
Lord as well as his obedience in the face of his own
execution serves as a Christ-like example of how we as
Christians should live. Jesus experiences an identical
situation as he faces his own execution by crucifixion.
Like Daniel, Jesus was innocent in Gods eyes, and in
order to fulfill the Lords divine purpose he had to be put
to death. Jesus obeys his Father throughout his entire life,
constantly praying and asking for guidance, even until his
own death. Jesus, the ultimate example for our lives,
made obedience to God a priority, setting aside his pride
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and humbly following the mandates of the creator.

Something of this importance shouldnt be ignored by us
Christians. Things havent changed; the Lord still desires
our complete obedience. He even gives us a perfect
example in his son, Jesus. Christ, for us, exemplifies the
instant, selfless, trusting obedience that our Father so
dearly desires from us. And yet, with such an incredible
example we still pretend we dont hear God knocking on
our hearts.
But what exactly does God want from us? Surely his
call for us to pick up our crosses and follow him was
nothing more than a metaphor? True, but the metaphor
tells us that we need to shoulder lifes burdens and still
continue our pursuit of Christ. Even so, life isnt all about
withstanding the difficult times; God wants us to obey
him in the easy tasks as well. For example, one thing God
wants from everyone is a relationship with him. This
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means speaking with, and listening to the Father on daily

matters.
In one region of Africa, the first converts to
Christianity were very diligent about praying. In fact, the
believers each had their own special place outside the
village where they went to pray in solitude. The villagers
reached these prayer rooms by using their own private
footpaths through the brush. When grass began to grow
over one of these trails, it was evident that the person to
whom it belonged was not praying very much.
Because these new Christians were concerned for
each others spiritual welfare, a unique custom sprang
up. Whenever anyone noticed an overgrown Prayer
path, he or she would go to the person and lovingly
warn, Friend, theres grass on your path!

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Daniel prayed several times a day, so he could keep

a strong connection to God, the source of his wisdom and
success. But no matter how many weeds have
accumulated on the road between you and the Lord, they
can always be uprooted, clearing the way to the father.
However, even more than God loves obedience, he
hates Sin. Sin is the opposite of the Lord and when we are
full of sin, we remain apart from Him. Wielded by the
Great Deceiver, sin corrupts, injures, tempts, and
destroys. And yet, something so evil surrounds us daily
and we take little notice.
A man purchased a white mouse to use as food for
his pet snake. He dropped the unsuspecting mouse into
the snake's glass cage, where the snake was sleeping in a
bed of sawdust. The tiny mouse had a serious problem on
his hands. At any moment he could be swallowed alive.

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Obviously, the mouse needed to come up with a brilliant

plan.
What did the terrified creature do? He quickly set up
work covering the snake with sawdust chips until it was
completely buried. With that, the mouse thought he had
solved his problem, so he went about with life as he
normally would, trying to remove the sleeping snake from
his mind.
Daniel knew he was surrounded by sin. His
relationship with the Lord helped him to overcome the
evil around him and prevail as a figure of righteousness.
Even so, Daniel came face to face with a physical
embodiment of sin when he was thrown into the lions
den. The lions served as the sin of the world, ready to
devour Daniel whole. And what could he do? Nothing but
trust in the Lord. He had fallen, literally in this case, into

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an environment so full of sin that it threatened his very

life!
Christ, battled with sin when he was in the desert.
Because he was fully human, Jesus was susceptible to the
pull of temptation, but his trust in the Lord and his
insistence on obeying His commands allowed Jesus to
overcome Satan and his lures. Christ, though overcoming
sin at every turn, must bear the sin of all humanity
because it is Gods will that Jesus acts as our perfect
sacrifice.
Both Daniel and Christ must confront sin in one way
or another. We face a similar fate, though we often
perceive it as something much less dire. Our constant
interaction with sin isnt as harmless as we like to believe
it to be. Hardly a day goes by that we do not have to
choose between compliance to what is expected by this
world and our loyalty to the Lord. The story of Daniel
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keeps us alert to what is at stake every day. But despite

all these consequences, we shouldnt lose hope.
Remember the little white mouse that simply covered up
the sleeping snake? Well
As it turns out, the man took pity on the little mouse
and removed him from the cage. No matter how hard we
try to cover or deny our sinful nature, it's fool's work. Sin
will eventually awake from sleep and shake off its cover. If
it wasnt for the saving grace of the Master's hand, sin
would eat us alive.
And that is truly good news! The Lord our God is
always able to save us from any trouble we may get
ourselves into. He wont necessarily shield us from all
harm, but with him in our hearts, all pain is bearable
because we have a limitless supply of joy within us.

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God is our shield and portion, and he fulfills this role

dozens of times throughout the Bible. For Daniel, He
sends an angel of the Lord down to shut the mouths of
the lions. You see, the sin Daniel was thrown into was
nullified by the Fathers saving grace. And Daniel
remained safe during his time in the pit because of his
obedience and trust in God. Daniel is rescued by the king,
who becomes overjoyed at seeing Daniel alive, against all
odds.
Christ also undergoes a variation of rescue. Three
days after his crucifixion, his resurrection serves as the
rescue that God promised him from the start. Jesus is
saved from the clutches of Death after his entire life
spent trusting and obeying the Lord because he too was
found innocent in the eyes of God. Christs resurrection
is his proof that God provides rescue for his people.

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Too many times are we left wondering why our God,

our Protector, doesnt save us from lifes evils. However,
we often miss the help that God sends our way. The
friend, advising us against sneaking out of our house to
go to a party, or parents that let us burn our fingers on
the stove so that we can learn, or the coworker that
lovingly tells us were going down a path of sin, these are
the people that God uses to help us avoid the pain that
accompanies our sin. But despite His divine help, we still
manage to fail. We cheat, we lie, we have impure
thoughts, and we do this with the knowledge of what God
wants us to do somewhere in the back of our minds.
Fortunately for us, we have a forgiving creator, one who
loves us, failures and all, and who promises that nothing
can snatch you from my hand. That is truly the good
news, that we are saved.

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So, if nothing else this morning sticks in your head,

please remember these few points. God wants our
obedience, he hates it when we sin, but he is always
standing by to provide rescue when we need it. We might
not always be obedient. History proves that we, the
people of God, struggle to follow his commands. This
leads to our sin, which is also inevitable. Born into a world
of sin, we Christians must obey the Lord and trust in him
if we are to make it out of this den of lions alive. And last
but not least, we can rest easy knowing that our Father,
the great shepherd, loves us in unimaginable ways, and is
eternally present, to rescue us from evil.
Father, thank you for being our savior, even when we
dont think we need saving. Thank you for forgiving us
when we mess up, and for forgiving us again, when we do
the same thing. We ask that you help us be obedient, in
the easy and the hard things, so that your will be done
through us, each and every day. We love you, Amen

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Life in the Den

I.

II.

III.

God Wants Obedience

a. Daniel is obedient
b. Christ is obedient
c. We should be obedient
God Hates Sin
a. Daniel faced the lions
b. Christ faced the cross
c. We face our sin
God Provides Our Rescue
a. Daniel is rescued
b. Christ is resurrected
c. We are saved

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19At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions den. 20When he
came near the den, he called to Daniel 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?
21Daniel answered, O king, live forever! 22My 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
ever done any wrong before you, O king. 23The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift
Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him,
because he had trusted in his God.

Sources:
sermonillustrations.com;
preachingtoday.com

flickr.com;

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