0306-God’s Presence and Angel Protection 神的同在,天使的保守

Daniel 6:22-23 My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, so that they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him; and also, O king, I have done no wrong before you.” Now the king was exceedingly glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no injury whatever was found on him, because he believed in his God.There is a huge difference in attitude between those who seek the hand of God and those who seek the face of God. Those who seek the hand of God seek a sense of entitlement (e.g “what is in it for me?”), and give little commitment to God and will think little of violating their core Christian values and principles. They have a “I will repay you when you bless me and abandon you when you don’t” predisposition.

For those who seek the face of God, they carry a sense of gratitude, love and commitment to their Lord and Savior because they have matured enough to know that this life is temporal, and they do things with eternity in perspective. They will survive and thrive in their walk with God even when they are in the lions’ den because it is an opportunity for them to experience God by acting on what they believe and the core conviction that they have.

While we read about Daniel’s dramatic deliverance from the lions’ den, we are also aware that Christians will be persecuted and even be martyrs for their faith. Some might pay the price of not having a promotion or the loss of a job because of suffering for righteousness and believing in the name of Jesus’ sake. However, the presence of God and His angels will be around to minister to us and strengthen us.

Each of us has our own private guardian angels (at least two) whose assigned duty is to protect us. And as New Testament believers, we have this blessed assurance that God will never leave us nor forsake us especially during the most difficult times of our lives.

In the case of Daniel, there was the presence of the son of man when Daniel’s three friends were in the fiery furnace. Their hair was not singed neither were they physically hurt nor suffered any degree of burn on their body. God assures us that nothing shall be able to separate his love for us and therefore, we can be confident while leading from the lions’ den.

Sermon Series: The Daniels of Today (Part 3)

神的同在,天使的保守

但以理 6:22-23我的　神差遣使者，封住狮子的口，叫狮子不伤我；因我在　神面前无辜，我在王面前也没有行过亏损的事。」 23王就甚喜乐，吩咐人将但以理从坑里系上来。于是但以理从坑里被系上来，身上毫无伤损，因为信靠他的　神

那些寻求神之手的人们的处事态度与那些寻求神之面的人们有着天壤之别。寻求神之手的人们在找寻所谓”当得的权益”，用“利己主义”来权衡得失，缺乏对神的委身，当自己违背基督徒核心价值观和原则的时候，也轻描淡写。他们态度的倾向是:”如果你祝福我，那么我就报答你；反之，我就离弃你”。

那些寻求神之面的人们，因为在属灵里足够成熟，深知生命本身是短暂的，他们从永生的角度行事，对神和救主心怀感恩，爱和委身。即便当他们深陷狮子坑，他们与神同行，不仅幸免于难而且获得丰盛，因为这正是一个契机让他们有机会行出他们的信心，行出他们的核心信念，从而经历神。

当我们读到但以理在狮子坑的戏剧性拯救的同时，我们也意识到基督徒们被逼迫甚至为他们的信仰成为殉道者。一些信徒可能因义和信耶稣而付出代价,包括没有得到晋升机会或者失去工作岗位等等。但是，神的同在和祂的天使们将环绕着我们，服事我们并为我们加添力量。

我们每一个人都拥有自己的守护天使(至少两位)，他们的职责就是保守我们。正如新约里的教导，我们拥有蒙福确据，即使在我们最艰难的处境中，神也永远不会撇下我们，或丢弃我们。

在但以理的故事里，当但以理的三个朋友被投入烈火窑门时，人子的同在伴随着他们。他们头发没有烧焦，火无力伤他们的身体，没有任何烧伤。神让我们确信，世上没有任何力量能让我们与基督的爱隔绝，当身处狮子坑时，我们也信心坚固。

讲章系列: 现今时代的但以理 (第三部分)