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??Introduction：King Darius was busy setting up his new kingdom. He had chosen 120 men to be princes in his kingdom. They must have been feeling pretty important to be chosen as leaders in the most powerful kingdom in the world. Over the 120 princes, the king set 3 presidents. Of the 3 presidents, the Bible says that Daniel was first.
??Daniel was an old man now, probably about 96 years old, but the Bible says, "Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm." Daniel 6：4 says, "forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him." With God's help, Daniel had proved to be a stedfast, faithful person.
??Main Teaching：If you know the Lord Jesus as your Savior, God will help you be stedfast and faithful to Him. What does it mean to be stedfast and faithful？It means that whether someone is watching you or not, you will do the right thing. If you are a stedfast and faithful student at school then when the teacher walks out of the classroom, she can trust you to keep doing your school work just as if she were standing over your shoulder watching. If you are faithful, you will do your work just as diligently at home for your parents, as you do for your teachers at school. And most importantly, you will be stedfast and faithful in your work for God! Our Bible verse for today says, " ...be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." If you know the Lord Jesus, God will help you be stedfast and faithful to Him. Others will notice that wonderful quality in you!
??King Darius was quick to notice that Daniel was a faithful and wise man, and the king promoted him. But the other presidents and princes were jealous of Daniel and they tried to find fault with Daniel. But every way they checked his life, they found him doing an excellent job. We have to stop and ask, "Were those jealous men doing a faithful job？" No, rather than taking care of the king's business, their time was spent trying to get an innocent man in trouble. They said, "We won't find any thing against Daniel, unless we find it against him concerning the law of his God." Together they came up with an evil plan.
??Daniel 6：6 says, "Then these presidents and princes assembled together to the king, and said, "O King Darius, live for ever. All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the counsellors, and the captains, have consulted together to establish a royal ...decree that whoever would ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days, except for the king, should be cast into the den of lions. they urged the king to sign the decree. Everyone knew it was the law of the Medes and Persians that once the king signed a decree, it could not be changed , not even by the king himself.
??Perhaps the king thought his officials were seeking to gain greater loyalty for their king, so he signed the decree. No doubt the king's heralds went quickly to work, for their job was to see that the decrees of the king were publicized to all officials and citizens of the kingdom as soon as possible.
??Daniel was one of the officials who soon heard about the new decree. Would this decree change Daniel's life？Daniel 6：10 says, "Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, " just as he always did. Daniel served King Darius well, but his first devotion was to the King of Kings! Daniel was stedfast and faithful in his love and devotion to God. The king's decree nor the den of lions was going to change that.
??Main Teaching：If you know the Lord Jesus as your Savior, God will help you be stedfast and faithful to Him. Let's say our Bible verse together again, I Corinthians 15：58, "Be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." Right now as you are reading or listening to this story, someone in the world is suffering persecution because they refused to deny the Lord Jesus. They are being stedfast in their love for Him. What about you？If you know the Lord Jesus, ask Him to help you stand firmly for Him. When you are tempted to play or do other things when you know you have not taken time to read your Bible and pray, ask God to help you do the right thing. When others make fun of you, or threaten you, or try to distract you from serving the Lord, ask God to help you stand for Him! When you do your work at school or at home, ask God to help you do it faithfully, even when no one is watching. You need God's strength to be stedfast and faithful. Daniel was stedfast and faithful in his love and devotion to God, as well as in his work for the king.
??You can be sure the jealous presidents and princes were spying on Daniel. Would he still pray to his God？. Sure enough, they saw Daniel opening his window and kneeling down to pray, as always. Away they ran to tell the king! "Haven't you signed a decree that every man that shall ask a petition of any God or man within 30 days, except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions？The king answered, "The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which does not change." The evil men could hardly hide their delight as they reported, " Daniel does not regard you, O king, nor the decree that you signed, but he is still praying to his God 3 times a day."
??Suddenly the king must have realized the whole motive behind their decree! It wasn't loyalty to him, it was a murderous plot against the wisest man in his kingdom! The Bible says the king was very displeased with himself. Can you imagine his anguish as he realized he was helping to destroy his most faithful friend？Immediately he set his heart on Daniel to deliver him, calling in counselors, working til the sun went down trying to find a way to get around the law he himself had signed.
??At sundown the princes and presidents assembled to remind the king, "Know, O king, that the law of the Medes and Persians is, That no decree which the king has established may be changed." It was the law, and not even the king could change it.
??Gospel：Did you know the true and living God has laws that cannot be changed？John 3：36 says, "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." God says that the person who believes on the Lord Jesus will have everlasting life, and nothing can change that. But the person who does NOT believe on the Lord Jesus will suffer God's anger and punishment for sin forever. The God Who created you and everything in the universe loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. His plan is not to destroy you, but to give you eternal life in Heaven! What a wonderful future our loving God has in store! But we are born separated rom Him because of sin. taking drugs or murder or stealing is sin, but God says even the jealous thoughts we think about others is sin. Sin is anything we think, say or do that dis pleases God. We must admit we are sinners and come to the Lord Jesus Christ, God's perfect Son, the only One Who can take care of that sin problem. Many years ago when the Lord Jesus came to earth as a baby and grew up in the land of Israel, most people did not realize they were looking at the Answer to their sin problem! But when Jesus was about 33 years old, He allowed wicked men to nail Him to a wooden cross. Jesus knew He was dying to take your punishment for sin. I Corinthians 15：3 says " ...how that Christ died for our sins..." In 3 days the Lord Jesus rose from the dead and now He is in heaven. The moment you come to Him in prayer, admitting your sin and telling Jesus you believe and receive Him as your Savior from sin, He will save you and give you everlasting life.
??That's God's promise! Not to believe and receive the Lord Jesus means you must take your own punishment for sin, and that is separation from God and His Heaven forever in a terrible place called Hell, prepared for the devil and his angels. God will not change His Word on that.
??The word of King Darius could not be changed, once he had put his signature on a decree. That was the law of the Medes and Persians. King Darius had worked so hard all day trying to get the law changed to save Daniel's life, but his officials reminded him it was impossible. It must have been a very heartbroken king that commanded Daniel to be cast into the den of lions. The king spoke his last words to Daniel："Your God whom you serve continually, He will deliver you." Do you think the king believed that？??Daniel was cast into the den of lions, and a stone was set on the opening of the den. Then the king went sadly back to his palace. He refused to eat, and no music was heard in the palace that night. The king was so tormented by his thoughts that he did not sleep at all. But what about Daniel？Daniel 6：10 says, "Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste to the den of lions. And when he came to the den, he cried out sadly, "O Daniel, servant of the living God, is your God Whom you serve continually able to deliver you from the lions？" To the king's amazement, he heard a voice answering him from the den of lions!! "O king, live forever. My God has sent His angel and has shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me; because the Lord knew I was innocent, and you know also, O king, that I have done nothing to hurt you."
??The king was so excited, so happy and immediately he commanded that Daniel be taken out of the den. The Bible doesn't say, boys and girls, but I think the king was so glad to see Daniel alive and well that he might have given him a big hug! The king and his servants looked Daniel over：not one scratch was found on him! The long night was over for faithful, stedfast Daniel, and he was restored to his position and prospered.
??However, the Bible says the king commanded to bring the men who accused Daniel, and cast them into the den of lions with their wives and children. There was no one to deliver them, for they had not trusted in the true and living God.
??King Darius wrote a new decree："In every part of my kingdom men shall tremble and fear before the God of Daniel, for he is the living God and stedfast forever."
??Challenge：If you know the Lord Jesus as your Savior, your God is stedfast and faithful! And He will help YOU to be stedfast and faithful. This week, whether it's reading your Bible and praying, doing your work at home or at school, will you ask the Lord to help you be stedfast and faithful, like Daniel？It will take God's help if someone threatens you or tries to distract you from doing the right thing. But God will help you to be stedfast!
??Say I Corinthians 15：58 to yourself often!
??If you have never believed on Jesus and asked Him to save you from sin, remember, God's Word does not change. Won't you change your mind and today believe on the Lord Jesus' Go now to "How to Be a Child of God."
