Title "Faith stronger than a lion"
Contents
Faith stronger than a lion
Dan 6:10-14
2012.6.24
Martyr's Day
“Oh, by the grace of God”
“The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church” (tertullian). That's right. Mr. is alive. The seed grows. And the seed bears many fruits. Today is Martyr's Day. We must inherit and sublimate the faith of the martyrs.
The Bible says, “Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Lions are strong. To overcome the devil's temptations and trials, our faith must be stronger than that of a lion.
Daniel 6 tells the suffering and victory of Daniel, a man of God. He was thrown into the lions' den. But he did not become lion's food. It was because Daniel's faith was stronger than that of a lion. Regarding this, Daniel 6:23 testified that the event in the lions' den was a triumph of faith, saying, "They brought Daniel up from the den, and he was not hurt at all, because he believed in his God."
1. A faith stronger than a lion is a martyr's faith that temporarily serves God.
Daniel came from a captivity brought to Babylon, and he ascended to a higher position than the dignitaries of the Babylonian mainland. King Belshazzar made him ‘third ruler’. And King Darius wanted to set him up to rule over the whole country (Daniel 6:3).
Although he succeeded greatly by God's grace, Daniel was faced with a great test and crisis. The prime ministers and dignitaries who were jealous of his succession gathered to go to the king, stamped a fish seal on the decree and issued a ban. The contents of the decree were that if anyone asked anything from any god or man other than the king during the next thirty days, they would be thrown into the lions' den. (Dan 6:7) They sought to get rid of Daniel by deifying the king and institutionalizing the cult of the emperor. Because they were well aware of the fact that Daniel didn't show any 'ground in God's law'. (Daniel 6:5) As they expected, Daniel did not give in to temptation. He did not worship the emperor even though he knew that the decree had a fish seal. And when he returned to his house, he went up to the upper room, opened the window to Jerusalem, and, as he had done before, knelt down on his knees three times a day and prayed and thanked his God (Daniel 6:10). It was expression.
In the eyes of the world, Daniel's situation was not the time to pray with the window open three times a day. And it wasn't much of a situation to thank God. Nevertheless, he did not devise to escape the crisis. There was no compromise in the world. He did not hide his identity as a servant of God. Without hesitation or hesitation, he opened the window to Jerusalem. And as he always did, three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed and thanked his God. No matter who looked at it, his faith was a faith that was ready to kill himself. A person who has the martyr faith to serve God with all his heart but rather kneel and pray to God in the midst of adversity. And I thank God even when I'm on the verge of losing everything. The world cannot handle people who have such beliefs. Those who have martyrdom to serve God with all their heart and soul overcome the world with that strong faith. (1 John 5:4) And it pleases God and sometimes receives God's reward. (Hebrews 11:6)
A Christian is a person who does not follow the temptations of men or the trends of the world, but only follows Christ. A Christian who follows Christ has faith stronger than a lion. That belief is a martyr's faith that is faithful to death. “Be faithful to death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Revelation 2:10) I believe you will.
2. Faith stronger than a lion is a missionary faith that follows God with one heart.
While interpreting King Nebuchadnezzar's dream (2:31-45), Daniel already knew experientially that God is the absolute Sovereign over the history of this world. He also knew that God was in control of his life. Therefore, no matter what trials and trials came to him, he could only respond with single-minded faith.
The king was overjoyed and told him to bring Daniel up from the lions' den. Instead, they had Daniel's accusers thrown into the lions' den along with their wives and wives. And he issued a decree to all the people in all the earth. This is Daniel 6:26-27. “Now I am issuing a decree. All who are under the jurisdiction of my kingdom shall tremble and fear before the God of Daniel, who is the living God, and his dominion is endless. You have taken it out of your mouth.” Amen! Those who have the missionary faith to follow God with one single heart will experience the salvation of God who closes the mouths of the lions with that true faith. Also, it glorifies God and expands the scope of missions until the kings of the nations promulgate the decrees of reverence and praise for God.
This is the story of Eric Riddle, a man of God. He himself gave up the laurel wreath of the 100m race at the Paris Olympics for Sunday worship. He was criticized and reviled by many. However, on the Sunday that he was supposed to participate, he went to the Olympic Village chapel to worship God and pray for his Jewish friend Harold, who participated on his behalf. And when he won the 400m race, which was not his main event, he fell on his face and gave glory to God.
A week after the Paris Olympics, he graduated from the University of Edinburgh. When he was asked about his plans after graduation at a celebration, he again surprised the British people.
“I want to go to China and devote the rest of my life as a missionary to spread the gospel.”
At that time, China was in the most unstable and dangerous situation due to the Opium War and the Boxer Incident. However, he went to China and devoted himself to youth evangelism. Then he became a Japanese prisoner of war and was imprisoned in a concentration camp. He turned a hellish camp into a huge chapel. However, he died at the age of 43 from malnutrition, overwork and a brain tumor. On February 21, 1945, as he raised his hands in praise and worship, he closed his eyes, exclaiming, “To my Lord, perfect obedience, obedience….” Langdon Kalki, who later became a university professor while in the same camp, testified of Eric Riddle.
“It will not be so easy to have the fortune of meeting a saint in the world. But such luck came to me. The saint’s name is Eric Riddle.”
A Christian is a person who lives only Christ-centered, not self-centered or world-centered. Those who live Christ-centeredly have faith stronger than a lion. That faith is a single-minded missionary faith that testifies to the living God. “I do not count even my life of any value as of the slightest, so that I may finish the course I must run and the mission I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24). We believe that God's desire is being fulfilled through a person of missionary faith who follows God with one heart to finish the gospel of grace of God, 'who wants all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth' (1 Timothy 2:4). .
Daniel 6:28 says that Daniel prospered in the days of King Darius and King Cyrus the Persian. Daniel's success was the success of his martyrdom and faith in serving God with all his heart. Today, on the anniversary of the Martyr's Day, I would like to conclude my sermon with the words of Saint John Chrysostom (349-407), the golden-mouthed Patriarch of Constantinople. “It is difficult to die once for the Lord, but it is even more difficult to live a lifetime for the Lord. But we must more actively present our bodies as living sacrifices pleasing to God. " Amen!
“Only for the Glory of God”