In this sermon, the preacher discusses the breakdown of the family unit in society and how it is a sad reality. He mentions how former Vice President Quayle spoke out about this issue and was initially ridiculed but later acknowledged as being right. The preacher then shifts to the story of Daniel, who came from a good family and was instructed in the Word of God. Despite facing condemnation and being thrown into a den of lions, Daniel remained faithful to God. The sermon also briefly mentions a story about a man holding up his watch during a sermon and a student refusing to recite a poem, causing controversy.

When John held up that string of pearls, I was reminded at the time that George Verwer, as was his want, had gone considerably over time in his message, and a brother at the back of the auditorium signaled him by holding up his watch. But George was not cowed. He said, Praise the Lord, there's a brother that's forsaking his watch for the Lord. And I couldn't help thinking maybe some sister forsook her pearls for the Lord. Tonight I'd like to look with you at Daniel 6, and we'll begin reading in verse 1. Just remember the Babylonian kingdom has passed off the theme, the head of gold is no longer the head of gold, and now the Medes and the Persians have come to power. Chapter 6, verse 1. It pleased Arius to set over the kingdom 120 satraps to be over the whole kingdom. Over these three governors, of whom Daniel was one, that the satraps might give account to them so that the king would suffer no loss. Then this Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and satraps because an excellent spirit was in him, and the king gave thought to setting him over the whole realm. So the governors and satraps sought to find some charge against Daniel concerning the kingdom, but they could find no charge of fault because he was faithful, nor was there any error or fault found in him. Then these men said, We shall not find any charge against this Daniel unless we find it against him concerning the law of his God. What a tribute! So these governors and satraps swung before the king and said thus to him, King Darius, live forever. All the governors of the kingdom, the administrators and satraps, the counselors and advisors, have consulted together to establish a royal statute and to make a firm decree that whoever petitions any god or man for 30 days except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions. Now, O king, establish the decree and sign the writing so that it cannot be changed according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which does not alter. Therefore, King Darius signed the written decree. Now, when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home, and in his upper room, with his windows open toward heaven, he knelt down on his knees three times that day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days. And, of course, they find him praying, and they go and report him to the unwitting king. Verse 16, So the king gave the command, and they brought Daniel and cast him into the den of lions. But the king spoke, saying to Daniel, Your God, whom you serve continually, he will deliver you. Quite different from Nebuchadnezzar, who said, What God is able to deliver you? Then a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the signets of his lord, that the purpose concerning Daniel might not be changed. Now the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting, and no musicians were brought before him. Also, his sleep went from him. Then the king rose early in the morning and went in haste to the den of lions. When he came to the den, he cried out with a lamenting voice to Daniel. The king spoke, saying to Daniel, Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions? Daniel said to the king, O king, live forever. 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. And, of course, the king rejoiced and made a wonderful proclamation as a result of the faithfulness of this man of God. When we think of this chapter, it's good to realize that Daniel was now 80 or 90 years old. That's incredible, isn't it? I mean, he had lived through the Babylonian captivity, and he certainly wasn't an infant when he was carried off into Babylon. Let's say he was 20 years old when he was carried into Babylon. He'd be 90 now. Isn't that wonderful, isn't it? At a time in life when physical and mental powers begin to wane, and when so many people climb the heavenly hill with wearied feet and slow, here's a man who's still there in the middle of the battle, isn't he? His convictions are still there. His commitment to Christ is still there. He has not flagged one little death. Each of us should convert that into prayer for ourselves. That as the Lord gives us year after year, our love may not grow cold as so many do. We might not become cold or bitter or cynical in spite of anything that might happen to us. This man had gone through trials, too. We've already seen. It hasn't been an easy pathway for him. His faith didn't budge one bit. He has a marvelous reputation, and God is on his side because of his faithfulness to the Lord. He has achieved a place of real prominence in the Persian kingdom, and we're not surprised at this anymore. It's been happening down through the centuries. Cream rises to the surface, doesn't it? That's what you have here. A man of integrity, a man of honesty, a man of truth and conviction, and he's promoted above his fellows. An excellent spirit was in him, and the king gave thought to setting him over the whole realm. He would have been second in command in the whole realm. But the enemy is always at work, especially when you have a man taking a stand for God. Satan is there to oppose and obstruct, and they want to find some reason to get rid of him. Jealousy, of course, is part of it, because he has advanced so wonderfully in the kingdom. And incidentally, Daniel was not a politician. Some people use him as an example that Christians should become involved in politics. It's a poor example. Daniel was not a politician. He didn't run for office. He was a civil servant. And there's quite a difference between the two. He wasn't interested in reforming the world. He was interested in being a man for God, wherever the Lord saw fit to place him. And he was a man of spotless character and integrity, one of two men in the Old Testament of whom nothing negative is spoken. The other being Joseph. Daniel wore throughout life the white flower of a blameless life. It doesn't mean that he was sinless. Of course he wasn't sinless. He was blameless. What makes a man blameless? Well, I think that if he does something wrong, he quickly makes it right. That's what Paul said concerning himself, Philippians chapter 3, concerning the law blameless. It doesn't mean he never broke the law. Of course he broke the law. But when he broke the law, he always brought the sacrifice that was required by the law for that particular transgression. And so they try to undo Daniel by forbidding him to pray for 30 days, to pray to his God for 30 days. Put yourself in his position. We're going to have a prayer meeting here tomorrow morning, 7 o'clock, Lord willing. I suppose it was a death sentence for anyone who dared come down those stairs in the morning to the prayer meeting. The question is obvious how many of us would be here. Three times in this book we find Daniel praying. Daniel was a man of prayer, praying three times daily, as the chorus says. In chapter 2, you find him praying for wisdom and help from the Lord in interpreting the king's dream. And then of course here, in this chapter, you have him praying as he was used to doing. And then in chapter 9, of course, that marvelous prayer of Daniel, the end of the Babylonian captivity. He stands before God and he confesses the sins of his people as if they were his own. In a very real sense, we might say that Daniel ate the sin offering in chapter 9. That's really a magnificent prayer. And it was a powerful prayer, too, because it brought down the curtain on the Babylonian captivity. And so they make this unalterable decree. Anybody that prays to anyone but the king for the next 30 days, the penalty is the den of lions. And Daniel refused to stop praying. He did not change his normal conduct. Notice he had a place for prayer, didn't he? His chamber. It's good to have a place set apart for prayer. A place that's free from distractions. A place where the telephone... isn't that amazing? Do you have that, the telephone rings when you get down on your knees? The timing is really astounding. It's good to have a place where you're relieved from all of that, where you can just get quiet before the Lord and put away the things of life, the cares of the day. He had a place for prayer. He had direction in prayer. He prayed toward Jerusalem. What was that all about? Well, of course, Jerusalem was the place where God had set his name, was the place of the temple where God dwelt among his people. And so the Jewish people, they would think of Jerusalem in terms of the presence of God. I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord. From the hills. You mean the hills? No, not the hills of sex. The hills of Jerusalem, where God dwelt among his people. He had direction in prayer. He had posture in prayer. He knelt. Now, the Bible doesn't legislate about posture in prayer. Some people prayed standing. Some prayed prostrate on the ground. Some knelt. What's the proper posture in prayer? The one that suits you best, don't you think? The one for that particular occasion, even, maybe, that suits you the very best. He had regularity in prayer. He prayed three times daily, but I cannot believe that that was the extent of his prayer life. I think he also engaged in Nehemiah prayers, don't you? Just shooting those prayers up to heaven as he went through life and as occasion demanded. Regularity in prayer. Then he was thankful in prayer. He said he gave thanks. Now, that's a wonderful thing. Instead of just rushing into the presence of the Lord with that gimme, gimme, gimme, just to be quiet before the Lord and just pour out our hearts in thanks, giving to him, the giver of every good and perfect gift. And then he was fearless in prayer. Opened windows. Would have been so easy to draw the Venetian blinds, wouldn't it? But no, he opened windows. And finally, he was earnest in prayer. He made supplications before the Lord. He could have said to himself, I can pray without kneeling, away from the window, in my heart, silently. It's good, isn't it? Clever. He didn't say that. Daniel preferred the den of lions to a day spent without prayer. But that speaks to my heart. Here's a man who preferred the den of lions to a day spent without prayer to his God. No wonder he had power with God. No wonder we're reading about him and talking about him in 1995. It's really marvelous. The penalty for praying tomorrow morning was to be cast into the den of lions. Would you come? I tell you, dear friends, it's great to have convictions and to stand by them, isn't it? That separates the men from the boys, as they say. Stephen Girard was an infidel millionaire, and he told his employees one day that they'd have to work on Sunday. A great shipment had come in, and it needed to be unloaded, and he wanted them all to be there. And one young man came to him, and he said, Mr. Girard, I cannot work on Sunday. Sunday is the Lord's day. And Girard said, in that case, you'll just have to leave the company. And that young fellow said, I know, sir. And he said, I also know I have a widowed mother who depends on me for her support. But he said, I cannot work on the Lord's day. And Girard said to him, well, then just go by the office and pick up your severance pay. That dear young fellow spent the next three weeks tramping the streets, looking for employment. Is that the last chapter? No. God's still on the throne. God's still working out his purpose. And God saw that young fellow, the stand that he took in loyalty to him. God brought Girard together with another man, who happened to be a bank president. And the bank president asked him if he could recommend a trustworthy person whom he should hire as treasurer of the bank. And after reflection, Girard named that young fellow whom he had fired. And the bank president said to him, I thought you told me that you had fired that young fellow. And Girard said, I did. But he said, the man who will lose his job on account of principle is the man to whom you can trust your money. He said, the man who will lose his job on account of principle is the man to whom you can trust your money. I ask you again, where does this come from in the life of a fellow like Daniel? And once again, I go back to his home training. Home training. That's one of the sad things in our country today, the breakdown of the family. Poor Mr. Quayle spoke out on that, and he was ridiculed and lost out of court. And then pretty soon the magazines, on the front page of the magazines, they were saying Quayle was right. And even the president of the United States acknowledged that Quayle was right. It was right, the breakdown of the family unit. Well, Daniel came from a good family. I'll tell you that, a family who instructed him in the word of God and encouraged him to be a man of conviction all the time. Well, Daniel is reported to the king, and he's condemned to the den of lions. And now the king realizes that he has been had. He really wasn't happy about this whole situation, was he? Daniel is cast to the den of lions. He already had some experience. He knew all about the fiery furnace, didn't he? About the den of lions. Rather fearsome, isn't it? But God can be in the midst of a burning, fiery furnace. He can be in a den of lions, too, can't he? The Lord could be with him in this. In any case, he wasn't going to deny his conviction. But it would have been so easy for him at a time like this to think, is this the reward for my faithfulness to the Lord? I have stood by the Lord down through the years. And there are a lot of years, many decades. And now he's going to be cast to the den of lions. Makes me think of John the Baptist languishing in prison and saying, Art thou he that should come or look we for another? If you're really the Messiah, what am I doing in prison? Well, he was in prison by divine appointment, and so was Daniel in the den of lions. And then you have the marvelous deliverance and Daniel's testimony, how Daniel had a restful night. I suppose he was pillowed on one of the lions, do you think? But the king had a very restless night, and all the medications that the kingdom could afford weren't adequate for him. It's really remarkable. Notice verse 28, Daniel's prosperity. This Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian. Daniel is not mentioned in Hebrews 11. Strange, isn't it? Strange that Samson should be mentioned and Daniel isn't mentioned. But he's certainly referred to, I think, through those words, who through faith stopped the mouths of lions. Well, I'm interested in the decree that King Darius wrote in verse 25. To all peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth, peace be multiplied to you. I make a decree that in every dominion of my kingdom, men must tremble and fear before the God of Daniel. For he is the living God and steadfast forever. He sounds like a Christian theologian. His kingdom is the one which shall not be destroyed. How true. And his dominion shall endure to the end. He delivers and rescues and he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth who have delivered Daniel from the power of the lions. And I tell you, those words would never have been written if Daniel had compromised. And we wouldn't be talking about this fellow tonight if he had compromised. Thank God for men like Daniel. Thank God for men like Martin Luther, a Catholic monk who came to the full realization of justification by faith alone sometime around 1516. And he began to speak out against indulgences and against purgatory. He taught the priesthood of all believers and he branded the Pope as a real antichrist. He reduced the number of sacraments from seven to two. And then he was called before the emperor and some papal authorities there in Germany. He was urged by his friends, don't go. And I love what he said. He said, even though there be as many devils and worms as there are tiles upon the rooftop. That's good, isn't it? And if you go through some of those German villages, you know there are quite a few tiles on the rooftops. And he said, even though there be as many devils and worms as tiles upon the rooftops, still I will go. And at the trial he said, the word of God is not my word. I therefore cannot abandon it. But in all things short of that, I am glad to be docile and obedient. You shall have my blood, my life, rather than a single word of retraction, for it's better to obey God than man. It's no fault of mine that this matter creates confusion among you. Here I stand. I can do none otherwise. God help me. Amen. And then he added those words that mean so much to me. He said, my conscience is captive to the word of God. That's what we need today. We need embodied consciences that are captive to the word of God. He said, I cannot and I will not retract. Thank God for Martin Luther. I know I've told this before, but when I was a kid growing up in an assembly back in Massachusetts, there was a young girl in our assembly and she went to school and the teacher assigned that poem Invictus by William Henley. She said, I want you to memorize this poem and I want you to recite it. Well, the poem is an infidel poem. I mean, it's supposed to be a classic of English literature, but it's nothing short of an infidel poem. If you don't believe it, just let me tell you. Out of the night that covers me black as the pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be for my unconquerable soul. Are those Christian words? Far from it. Terrible. In the cell clutch of circumstance, I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeoning of chance, my head is bloody but unbowed. Beyond this place of wrath and tears looms but the horror and the shade, and yet the menace of the years finds and shall find me unafraid. It matters not how strait the gate, how charged with punishment the scroll. I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul. And Edith Vale told her teacher that she couldn't recite that. And I want to tell you, it caused a stir in that city. It was in the newspapers. It was almost as bad as, well, it was worse than Jehovah's Witnesses who wouldn't salute the flag. There's a girl that wouldn't recite a classic of English literature, as they call it. And it was a very trying time. I'll tell you, it sent our little assembly to its knees in prayer. And then some dear friend came along and said, Edith, did you know there's a Christian version of that poem? Why don't you go to your teacher and ask her if you can recite the Christian version of that poem? And Edith said, what is it? And so they gave her this poem by Dorothy Day, and it says, Out of the light that dazzles me, bright as the sun from pole to pole, I thank the God I know to be, for Christ the conqueror of my soul. Since his the sway of circumstance I would not wish, nor cry aloud, Under the rule that men call chance, my head with joy is humbly bowed. Beyond this place of sin and tears that life within, And his the aid that spite the menace of the years find, and shall find me unafraid. And I think the last verse is particularly beautiful. She quoted it, I have no fear, though straight the gate, He cleared from punishment the scroll. Christ is the master of my fate, Christ is the captain of my soul. And I tell you, it was a great victory for Jesus. But just a slip of a girl, a frail slip of a girl, dared to stand for God in Malden, Massachusetts years ago. And God was greatly glorified. What a wonderful opportunity for young people in schools today to take a stand for the Lord. Not to be carried away by the dishonoring of the Lord Jesus Christ, but attacked on the word of God by the teaching of evolution. These people, they pose and they seem to know all the answers, and the fact is they have nothing. Dear friends, there are only two possibilities. Authority based upon the word of God, or human opinion. That's all. If it isn't that authority, it's human opinion. And I tell you, when it's human opinion, one man's opinion is no better than another's or worse. When a public figure was lecturing on the need to restore values to our culture, a college student raised his hand and asked him, On what do you build your values? And he was flustered, he looked down and he said, I don't know. That's it. Apart from the word of God, there's nothing. There's nothing. Not too long ago I got a letter from a sister in Chicago. She has a son-in-law who's a Japanese-American fellow, Christian lad. And she wrote me, she said, Bob got fired the Monday after Thanksgiving. He went into work and they had a pornographic job to be printed. He refused to work on it. So the one over him fired him. Bob said, I would have quit anyway. I don't want to work for a company that takes jobs like that. His boss, that is the upper boss, tried to get him to compromise, but Bob said no and left. And two weeks later he got a letter from the boss, that is the upper boss, saying he felt very bad that it happened and promising to give him a good reference if he needed one. The Lord provides Bob is doing some work for a friend for whom he worked part-time previously. And she says, I'm sure that the Lord has some good thing for Bob. So we're going to trust and see and wait on the Lord. Young Daniel, huh? The young Daniel refused to work on a print job involving pornography. I've never seen this in writing, but somebody told me once that Ironside was sitting on a platform one day and some man, some other speaker at the conference that he was attending, got up and said something that was dishonoring as far as the birth of the Lord Jesus was concerned. And Ironside got up and walked off the platform. And I love him for it. I love him for it. I mean, that's not the politically correct thing to do, is it? Get up and walk off the platform. He would not sit there and allow the Lord Jesus to be dishonored from that platform. Is that the way things are today? No, it isn't the way things are today. It really bothers me when I go into Christian bookstores all over the country and see the writings of a man like William Barclay. William Barclay denies every fundamental doctrine of the Christian faith. Every one. I have read through his commentaries on all the books of the New Testament. I just read it because I knew that I wanted to be able to document what I was saying. Jesus didn't walk on the water. I mean, those stones were there just below the surface of the water, and he walked on the stones, but it looked as if he was walking on the water. Jesus cursed the fig tree. That was not worthy of Jesus to act like that. This is the way he talks. Denies the deity of Christ. He said the church has never required us to believe the virgin birth. The church has never required it. And he goes right on to... He himself was a universalist. He believed in universal salvation. Most Christian bookstores in the United States sell his books. They don't want to hear anything about it. They say, well, he gives such good background information. That's the way he talks. He gives such good background information. His writings are absolute poison. Theological poison. But there's money in selling them. Sadly, so much today has to do with the bottom line. The prophet motive. Very, very sad. Last year, some evangelicals and Catholics got together and drew up a document called ECT. Evangelicals, Catholics, Together. Charles Colson was probably one of the leaders in it. Not probably, he was one of the leaders in it. Promoting alliance with the Catholics. The document, first of all, rejoices in our common faith. I'm sure those of you who are laboring in Catholic countries will be pleased to hear this for the first time. Rejoicing in our common faith. And not only so, apologizing for wrongs that we have committed in the past. And if that weren't enough, agreeing not to proselyte from one another. In other words, don't seek to win Catholics to the Lord Jesus Christ. And this document was signed by Charles Colson, Pat Robertson, Bill Bright of Campus Crusade, J.I. Packer, the author of the very good book, Knowing God, Oz Dines, some of the leading lights in the evangelical world. They put their hand to this. And there has been tremendous pressure on other Christians to go along with this. This in spite of the fact that a recent Vatican document says that fundamentalism actually invites people to a kind of intellectual suicide. Fraternization with the Catholic Church, the head of which the Pope calls our brothers and sisters down, evangelical brothers and sisters in South America, evangelical wolves. Fraternization with a church that is drunk with the blood of the saints. And who's pushing this? Evangelical leaders are pushing it. The road back to Rome. It's incredible. The other night I mentioned how Nav Press, Navigator Press is publishing a book, is selling a book by Catholic apologist, Keith Fournier, which he appeals for alliance with evangelicals. And yet he pushes good works as essential for salvation, baptismal regeneration, eternal life dependent upon perseverance, transubstantiation, that is the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, the Bible as a book of the church, not the church as the church of the Bible. And then the Bible as a part of church tradition, really giving church tradition equal authority with the Bible, and on and on. Dawson Plotman would turn over in his grave, the founder of the Nav. He said, well, this can't be going on. It's going on today. It's going on. Then they got together and there was quite an outcry, praise the Lord, when this happened. So they got together and they issued a second statement, which was to clarify the first. Get that, clarify. Not take back the first, but clarify the first. It was simply a whitewashed job. And some of our men like John MacArthur and James Kennedy from Florida, and John Ankerberg, and there's another one I'm not thinking of. They urged these men, withdraw that first statement. And Bill Bright of the Navigators, Bill Bright of the Campus Crusade got up and weeping copious tears, he said, if we withdrew that statement, there are thousands of Catholics who would never hear the gospel. I'm confused, are you? I'm confused. He wept before them. He said, if we were ever to withdraw that statement, there are thousands of Catholics who would never hear the gospel. You know, what's so confusing about it, these are good men. These are men that have been a blessing in their writings and their preaching. And now this is what's happening. Dr. Jack Van Impey. I don't know how many have ever heard Jack Van Impey. Well, quite a few of you have. And if you have, you know that he's a good gospel preacher. And he's got a fantastic memory of the scriptures. I mean, his memory of the scriptures, he can just quote them by the yard. And now he loudly defends the Pope as a genuine Christian, a true prophet and a defender of the faith. And he's written a book to that effect. This is not gossip. This is all in print. And this is the Pope who's the head of an apostate system. This is the Pope that's the head of a system that still holds to the Council of Trent, which pronounces a curse on just about everybody in this meeting tonight. Why? Because you believe that you can know you're saved. The Council of Trent pronounces a curse on you. Because you believe that salvation is by grace through faith plus nothing, the Council of Trent pronounces you are cursed by that church. And now evangelicals want to go in with that whole system that holds to a gospel that is under the curse of God. Galatians chapter one. Really under the curse of God. It hurts me to say this about Billy Graham. Billy Graham preaches a good gospel. He's been a faithful man down through the years. And yet Billy Graham says, I have no quarrel with the Catholic Church. We'll send inquirers to their own churches, Roman Catholic, Protestant, or Jewish. That hurts me. I could weep when I read something like that. Because I love Billy Graham. This is what makes it so confusing for people today. Good men. Men whom they respect. And who have been so greatly used of God. And that's what he says. I have no quarrel with the Catholic Church. Well, I want to tell you, friends. I have a quarrel with the Catholic Church. Millions of people going down to hell because of a false gospel. I have no quarrel with the Catholic Church. We'll send inquirers to their own churches, Roman Catholic, Protestant, or Jewish. Jewish magic. Incredible. Norman Geisler. I mentioned him the other night. Speaking approvingly of Catholicism. He says we have much in common with them. Most evangelicals don't know that Catholics believe in justification by grace. Well, it comes as a shock to me. I'll be honest with you. Catholics believe in justification. Most Catholics don't know that. You just talk to them and you'll soon become disenchanted. We have a radio program. I don't know if you get it out here. Christian Research Institute, CRI. Hank Hanegraaff. His whole ministry is to expose the cult. He won't say a negative word about the biggest cult of all, the Catholic Church. Not a word. About the biggest cult of all, the Catholic Church. We knew from the word of God that this declension was coming. But who would believe it would come so fast? And with the help of evangelicals. And men who, like David Hunton, John MacArthur, and a brother down in Florida, who speak out against it. What are they? They're divisive and they're negative. I tell you, they're scriptural. Of course they're divisive. Of course they're negative. Because they're true to the word of God. I like what Andrew Bonar, a Scottish father, said to him. Let us go on faithfully to the end, Andrew. I've written that in the front of my Bible. Let us go on faithfully to the end, Andrew. The whole ecumenical movement is all around us today. Unity at the expense of doctrine. And I always remember 2 Chronicles 19. Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord, therefore the wrath of the Lord is upon you. Robert G. Lee said, We live in a world of invertebrate theology, jellyfish morality, seesaw rituals in our plump comfortableness. When a Christian spoke out against E.J. Carnell's book, The Case for Orthodoxy, because it argues against the inspiration of the scriptures, a friend of the author said, Well, you don't know him personally as I do. He's a gracious gentleman, a godly man. I mean, first of all, the deceitfulness of it. The Case for Orthodoxy, an attack on the inspiration of the scriptures. And because somebody dared to question it, Carnell's friend said to him, You don't know him as I know him. He's a godly man, a gracious gentleman. J. Adams was right. He said, In some circles, the fear of controversy is so great that preachers and congregations following after them will settle for peace at any cost, even the cost of the truth, God's truth. The idea is that peace is all important. Peace is a biblical ideal, but so is purity. The peace of the church may never be bought at the price of the purity of the church. The price is too dear. I'm telling you, God is looking tonight for Christians who will have convictions and stand true to the Lord Jesus Christ. The darkness is really creeping in among us. Jesus said, I would that thou art hot or cold. Because you're neither hot or cold, I will spew you out of my mouth. The Lord Jesus would rather have you cold than sitting on a fence. Really? That's what it says. May the Lord give us grace to stand true to him. May we be willing to count, to stand and be counted, and to fight against anything that dishonors the Lord Jesus Christ or questions the authority of the word of God. Shall we pray? Father, we do thank you for this dear man, Daniel. We think of him perhaps in his nineties. What a faithful and true servant he was, willing to endure a den of lions rather than give up his prayer life as he had always carried it on. And we thank you for those today, too, who are standing up against the terrible flow of apostasy in our country. We know that you will honor them. We don't have to ask you to honor them. We know that you will honor them. Bless the literature that's going out today combating all of this evil. And may our voices be heard increasingly, Lord, that men and women, their eyes might be opened, that they might see the deceitfulness of us all. We ask it in Jesus' name and for his sake. Amen.