Okay, indeed it is a blessing to be with you here this evening as we open the Word of God together. If you could turn with me please to the book of Daniel and chapter 6. Daniel chapter 6. As we look at the subject tonight, Daniel in the den. Daniel in the den. And in our last message we focused on the prayer life of Daniel. We're working our way through the first half or the first major section of the Book of Daniel, which primarily deals with narrative, with historical accounts that took place, there is prophetic things that come through as well, but very soon we're going to be into Chapter 7, and from Chapter 7 to the end of the book, the focus is far more upon the prophetic side of things, so there'll be much to be learned there. But some wonderful heart-stirring and inspiring examples and illustrations of faith for us in these first chapters of the book of Daniel. Well, let's turn to Daniel 6 there, and I'm going to read from verse 10 down to verse 28, and then we'll have a word of prayer as we look at our lesson for tonight. Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house and his windows being opened in his chamber, toward Jerusalem he kneeled upon his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God as he did aforetime. Then these men assembled and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God. Then they came near and spake before the king concerning the king's decree. Hast thou not signed a decree that every man that shall ask a petition of any god or man within thirty days, save of thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions?' The king answered and said, The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not. Then answered they and said, before the king, that Daniel, which is of the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three times a day. Then the king, when he heard these words, was sore displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him. And he laboured till the going down of the sun to deliver him. Then these men assembled under the king and said unto the king, Know, O king, that the law of the Medes and Persians is, that no decree nor statute which the king establisheth may be changed. Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God, whom thou service continually, he will deliver thee. And a stone was brought and laid upon the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet and with the signet of his lord's, that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel. Then the king went to his palace and passed the night fasting. Neither were instruments of music brought before him, and his sleep went from him. Then the king arose very early in the morning and went in haste under the den of lions. When he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel. And the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions? Then Daniel said unto the king, O king, live forever. My God hath sent his angel and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me. For as much as before him innocency was found in me, and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt. Then was the king exceeding 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 manner of hurt was found upon him, very key phrase here, because he believed in his God. And the king commanded and they brought those men which had accused Daniel and they cast them into the den of lions, them, their children and their wives. And the lions had the mastery of them and break all their bones in pieces or ever they came at the bottom of the den. Then King Darius wrote unto all people, nations and languages that dwell in all the earth, peace be multiplied unto you. I make a decree that in every dominion of my kingdom, men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel. For he is the living God and steadfast forever and his kingdom, that which shall not be destroyed and his dominion shall be even unto the end. He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions. So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for this precious portion of Scripture. We thank you, Lord, that Daniel is an example to us of a man of faith. a man who believed in thee, a man who trusted thee, a man who was willing to stand for thee no matter what the cost might be. Father, both preacher and hearer need help tonight. Lord, to rightly divide the word of truth, not to impose upon the text our own thoughts and ideas, but Lord, to be faithful to the interpretation of your word and then to make an application as your spirit would lead for the needs tonight. So we do pray that you would be present now in this message. Bless, we pray, every heart. Bless those that come, Father, tonight with needs, burdens, who face a vicious trial of their own. May you minister to them special grace and may they be inspired and encouraged by Daniel's example and, Lord, how your presence was made known to him in that trial and how you preserved him and kept him. So we pray for your blessing now again in Jesus' name. Amen. Daniel, at this stage of his life, has been in captivity for about 68 years. So this would make Daniel somewhere in his 80s or 90s. And it's a wonderful blessing, isn't it, to see a consistency about the life of Daniel. You go back to when he's a young man in Chapter 1, and he's purposing in his heart that he would not be defiled with the king's meat. We see the challenge that he faced in chapter 2 where Nebuchadnezzar makes that decree to slay the wise men of Babylon and how Daniel goes to prayer, a man of prayer there in his youth, with his friends and how they seek the Lord and how God comes through and miraculously turns around that situation. And then a little bit later in chapter three, we see how Daniel's three friends stood there against Nebuchadnezzar's image. And they faced the fiery furnace for refusing to bow to that pagan idol. Well, now we come to Daniel in the latter stage of his life. And you think, surely all the tests and trials are over for Daniel. He's an elderly man now. He doesn't have too much longer to live. But no, there's still a test for Daniel to face. But Daniel had faced the reality of death before and knew that God could be trusted, knew that he could be faithful to the Lord. And so Daniel now faces the lion's den for refusing to not bow faithfully in prayer to his God. The edict was that they were not to bow. And so there you go. He is faithful to the Lord. Now, we see that Daniel, in this account, is an example to us of faith. There's a key verse there, and I highlighted it to you as we were reading, verse 23, that specifically mentions that Daniel believed in his God. Now, keep an eye out for those sorts of phrases. When you're reading a Bible story or an account, sometimes you may ask yourself the question, well, what does this mean for my life? What's the spiritual lessons? Well, when you're reading the Old Testament stories, try and look for these key phrases that come out of the text that highlight something to us. We see that central to all of this was Daniel's faith. Daniel was a man of faith. In fact, we believe in Hebrews 11, where it says that through faith they stopped the mouths of lions, we believe that very likely is a reference to Daniel. that because he believed in God, because he trusted in God, because his faith was steadfast in God, he was able to see that great victory for ultimately the Lord's glory. So tonight we want to consider three aspects of Daniel's faith. Three aspects of Daniel's faith in the account before us. Look firstly at what I'd call the trial of Daniel's faith. The trial of Daniel's faith, sorry, verse 11 to 17. We see in verse 11 through 15 that Daniel was prosecuted for his faith. We see the prosecution of his faith. These men are intent on the destruction of Daniel. Daniel is Daniel's Christian walk. His testimony for the Lord is going to come under attack. It's going to come under test. And he's going to be dragged before the court of the land, as it were, and prosecuted for his faith as a believer. You see these wicked men had orchestrated behind the scenes for an evil law to be put in place that they might have occasion against a godly man called Daniel. Now, we have to understand today that this is a method of wicked people and it's happening in our nation where there is an attempt being made to have evil laws passed that are contrary to God's law with the underlying intent, with the underlying purpose to have an occasion to attack the truth. And that's what happened with Daniel. So he's prosecuted here for his faith. Look at the collection of evidence against him in verse 11. These men begin to look in his life for evidence to convict him and what a wonderful testimony this is. What did they find? Then these men assembled and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God. You know, there's a little word in the previous verse of foretime. There's a whole message right in that one word. Daniel, we see him as a young man praying. Now, all these years later, you wind the clock forward, the Bible tells us he simply continued to pray as he did aforetime. For all those years, the 68 some years of captivity, Daniel had cultivated a life of prayer, a life of devotion to God, and that had sustained him, no doubt, and kept him through that sea of paganism and evil around him. And so these men come and search Daniel's life to find evidence that he is breaking this ungodly law. Thank God Daniel was breaking that law. And we as God's people, though we are bound to uphold legitimate laws that do not encroach upon our faith, we are duty bound first and foremost to God to defy and break an ungodly law. and the state has no right to legislate in the area of human conscience, has no right to legislate to whom we may pray, that is something between the individual and God." So Daniel was breaking that law. They found plenty of evidence for their case. It's interesting, isn't it, to note the particular aspect of Daniel's walk with God that's under fire. What particular aspect of Daniel's godly walk is under attack here? Prayer. Particularly his prayer life. Now it's fascinating when you get to chapter 10, we find that there are demonic personages behind the Persian regime and they're taking note of Daniel's prayer life. In fact, they're taking note of Daniel's prayer life to the point where they're trying to obstruct the answer that the angel has been sent to give Daniel to his prayer. So make no mistake that behind these human figures, this was Satan working to attack this prayer life of Daniel. And I've said it from this pulpit before, I say it again, that I believe that more than Satan fears our preaching, more than he fears our programs, I believe Satan really fears our praying. if you're going to be a consistent prayer warrior and like Daniel cultivate this habit of prayer and be steadfast in the face of opposition may I just suggest to you be prepared for satanic attack that'll come against your prayer life. Collection of evidence against Daniel. You know I wonder if things were to ever come to a point in this nation where you could be put on trial for your faith, and wicked men came to try and find evidence on you, not evidence of you doing evil, but evidence of you obeying the Word of God, would they find evidence? Would they find you upholding the Word of God? You know, someone has said if you were put on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you? I hope there would. in my life and yours. So we have the collection of evidence against Daniel, he's being prosecuted for his faith. We have then the presentation of evidence against Daniel in verse 12 to 13, they now bring this to the king. Now we see these men were both subtle and slanderous in their approach, they were subtle in that they lured the king into a bit of a, well they'd already lured him into this trap but now they're going to try and close the trap and they say to the king, They remind him of his decree. Hast thou, verse 12, not signed a decree that every man that shall ask a petition of any god or man within 30 days, save of thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions? The king answered unwittingly at this stage about what was going on. The thing is true according to the law of Medes and Persians, which altereth not. And they say, we've got you. Now the first part of their accusation there was slanderous, to suggest that Daniel did not regard the king. Now we can see from the verses that follow that Darius obviously did not buy into this. Remember when Nebuchadnezzar, when a similar accusation was made against the three godly men, he allowed his pride to get involved and he said, boy, he was angry. Yes, they've dishonored me. But here, Darius didn't fall for that. But can you see the slanderous accusation that comes through there? You see this man by praying to his God, by being faithful to his God is dishonoring you King. And there's always an attempt, isn't there, when you're simply trying to be faithful to the Lord and be true to His word. You're not trying to be disloyal or disrespectful to anybody, but you can be charged with disrespect and disloyalty simply because your allegiance is to Jesus Christ first. This was slanderous. He says, he hasn't regarded thee, O king, nor the decree that thou hast signed. That part was true, and praise God, Daniel did not regard this decree, but made his petition three times a day. So we have the presentation of evidence against Daniel. Look at the reaction of Nebuchadnezzar to the evidence against Daniel. How did he react to this? Then the king, when he heard these words, was sore displeased with who? With himself. Are you there in the verse? with himself and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him. Darius had tremendous regret. And what Darius' example teaches us and reminds us of here is that when we allow ourselves to be puffed up in pride, we fall into a trap. And there are consequences that come as a result of that. And Darius, though he tries to reverse the decision here, he finds himself a prisoner to the results of his own foolish pride. He allowed himself in a moment of pride and arrogance, where they had appealed to his pride, to make a law that was both foolish and wicked. And now he realises that there was a sinister plot behind all of this, but it's too late. And the Bible reminds us, doesn't it, in Proverbs 29, 23, that a man's pride shall bring him low. but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit. So we see the prosecution of Daniel's faith, the trial of his faith, he's prosecuted for his faith, then we see the penalty for his faith. What penalty was meted out to Daniel for his faith? Verse 16, then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spake and said, under Daniel, thy God, whom thou service continually, he will deliver thee. The stone was brought and laid upon the mouth of the den and the king sealed it with his own signet and with the signet of his laws that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel, the penalty for his faith. He was summoned, verse 16, he was summoned for a brief audience with the king before being cast into the den of lions. Now the final words of Darius to Daniel before he was thrown into the lion's den are significant. they reveal to us just the extent of the impact that Daniel's godly testimony had had upon this king. What does he say to Daniel there? Thy God, whom thou service continually, he will deliver thee. I love that little word there, continually. This king's not a saved man, he doesn't know the Lord yet. He looked on and saw Daniel's life and he said, Daniel, I know one thing about your life. You are steadfast, you are faithful, you are consistent. Your service to this God is not like the culture that exists amongst our pagan religion where we give an outward show perhaps of loyalty and an outward show even of holiness or adherence to certain sets of rules, but then behind the scenes live lives that are corrupt and disgraceful. Daniel, your life, your walk with God is the real thing. It's not just a Sunday-only type of Christianity. It's a seven-day-a-week affair. Public or private, Daniel was a man of God. And this impacted the king. And he said, you know, I believe Darius detected in the life of Daniel something authentic, something real, something he came into contact with, something that was distinct to the paganism and the false religion that he was used to and would to God that we would so walk with God that people would be able to see this is not just another religion. This is not just another going through the motions that we by God's grace know God. There's a reality about our walk with God. Darius repeats these same words in verse 20, a little bit later. He will deliver thee. Amazing, Darius seemed to have even a measure of faith that this God that Daniel served would come through and do a miracle. Amazing faith for a pagan king. Now we know he doubted as well. We're going to find he spends the night pacing back and forwards and he's full of fear and turmoil, but there seemed to be a measure of confidence that Daniel had something real, something that would carry him through this difficulty. So he was summoned before the king. Then he was sentenced. Sentenced for an evil thing? No, they searched his life, didn't they, in the beginning of the passage there. They found he was faithful, verse four, and neither was any error or fault found in him. Daniel was a man who had an impeccable public and private record, a man who was upright and a man of integrity. Daniel was being sentenced for not doing something wrong, but for doing something right. know it's one thing to suffer isn't it for doing something wrong but it's a bitter pill to swallow to suffer for doing right. But we have to be prepared for that in the will of God, to suffer for righteousness sake. He was sentenced, now we see that Daniel's fate was determined by these men. Look at the extent to which they go to make sure that Daniel is exterminated. In verse 17, that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel. So there's some steps that are taken in this sentencing of Daniel to make sure that the intent is carried out. There was a stone and a seal. Look at the stone there. A stone was brought and laid upon the mouth of the den." So imagine our kids, imagine godly Daniel there and he's taken. Imagine coming to a big pit full of lions and you can hear them roaring. They're hungry. We know they're hungry because later on when the wicked men are thrown in, they get torn and broken to pieces before they even touch the bottom. They're hungry. They're ready to eat. Now the critics have jumped on this method of accusation and said, ah, here we go. See, Daniel is a fairy story, it's made up, because we haven't found any documented evidence of this method of execution. Are you surprised? Archaeological discoveries have found what? Very solid evidence. They've even found an actual den. They found records of over 400 people, Persian records, detailing lists of names of people who were actually put to death to lions. Daniel's name's not on the list. Praise the Lord. And so the critics fall on their face every time. By the way, as we just go through here, the Bible is not dependent on external evidence to be validated. This is the word of God because God says it's his word. But it's just interesting, isn't it, that it so happens that the word of God is vindicated time and time and time again, multiple thousands of times as the critics attack it and they just prove themselves to be foolish though they profess themselves to be wise. But the den there, Daniel was brought to the lion's den and he's thrown in and then a stone is rolled across the mouth of the den and as far as these enemies were concerned, they thought that was the end of it. You know, this is not the only time a stone was rolled across a opening in the ground, was it? When the enemies of Christ rolled that stone across the face of the tomb of Christ, they thought it was all over. This one called Jesus who claimed he could forgive sins, this one who said he would rise from the dead, it's all finished. The stone is rolled in front of the tomb. There he lies to remain in the thoughts and the minds of the enemies. But Sunday's coming. And that stone that was such an obstacle to man in both these cases was nothing to God. And God took that stone, didn't he, in the resurrection and cast it to one side, not to let the Lord Jesus out, but to simply reveal he had already gone. So the stone was rolled across the mouth of this den. They thought that was the end of it. Then they sealed this stone We can see they're trying to eliminate any possibility of an escape on the part of Daniel. The heavy stone in place to imprison him in there with the ferocious beast. Then the seal of both the king and his lords. Now the seal was maybe something like a wax or clay that was placed upon the stone. And then it mentions the signet there, doesn't it? Where are we there? Verse... Number 17, he sealed it with his own signet and with the signet of his lord, so they would have some sort of imprint on the ring. that would be unique to the king or to the various officials there. And they would press that into the wax or the seal there. And the whole purpose of that was to ensure that if that was tampered with, it would reveal clearly that something had been interfered with the crime scene or the stone. So we see that they're trying to eliminate any possible attempt to rescue Daniel. I wonder what sort of look was on the faces of those wicked men, they sealed it too. These evil lords, full of glee, he's gone, he's finished. Seal his death warrant there, it's over. Well as far as man was concerned, nothing could save Daniel. That the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel. Don't you love it though, how when man determines something in evil, God can just turn it around? God and his power can foil that and just completely obliterate man's attempts to do such things? Really, what was taking place here is the stage was being set for another manifestation of God's power. God intervening in the affairs of men, another opportunity for the truth that God reigns, that God is on the throne to be declared before men and nations. You know, it's interesting, isn't it, that God did not intervene or prevent these events that led to Daniel being cast into the lion's den. He could have, couldn't have he? Could have God prevented Daniel from going through this? Yes. Why didn't he? Well, because this was going to provide an occasion for the glory of God. You know, that might provide you tonight with some hope and some perspective on your trial. Have you ever thought about approaching it that way, Lord? As grievous as this trial is, as difficult as it is, the hostility here I'm having to face, if this in some way is going to bring you honour and glory, by your grace, I'll trust you and go through it. Job had to go through that, didn't he? Had Job really done anything wrong? No. But God wanted to create an occasion whereby his name could be exalted. And so we need to be willing to face that fire or that den if it means God is exalted and glorified. So we have the trial of Daniel's faith. Number two, second lesson tonight, the triumph of Daniel's faith. The triumph of Daniel's faith. verse 18 to 24. In verse 18 through 20 we find that, oh verse 18 sorry, the king returns to his palace, passes the night with fasting, with He refuses to be comforted with instruments of music, sleep escapes him. Then he rises very early in the morning, makes haste to the den of lions and calls out in that lamentable voice, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou service continually, able to deliver thee from the lions? Then the reply comes. So we see the preserving of Daniel, the preservation of Daniel, the triumph of his faith, the preservation of Daniel. And we see that Daniel was preserved for two specific reasons in these verses. Daniel's faithfulness and Daniel's faith. Daniel was preserved by God in the trial because of his faithfulness to God and his faith. For as much as before him, innocency was found in me. So Daniel was being wrongfully punished for his godly life. Daniel was a man of integrity and because of that God chose to vindicate him and to preserve him. And then also because of Daniel's faith, because he believed in his God, verse 23. Now it's interesting, isn't it, that Daniel comes out of the den completely unscathed. You remember when the three young Hebrews, the three men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, came out of the fiery furnace? They didn't even smell the smell of smoke on them. No harm, no damage. And Daniel comes out of the lion's den without a wound or a scratch. God had preserved Daniel in his trial. in this test. And isn't that an amazing thing? God can do that for you too. If you're in the will of God and you're going through a trial, isn't it amazing how God can bring you out the other side and though you have no doubt found it difficult and a challenge and you've learned some things along the way, your life is preserved. God keeps you from harm. And that's important because sometimes we can feel like that trial's going to destroy us. This is it. I'm sure this is it. I've had it this time. I'm going to be knocked off out of the Christian walk, out of the Christian race. No, God can actually bring you through that trial and bring you out the other side undamaged. Undamaged. Just bear that in mind in any trial that there are two Two persons that are working in your trial or seeking to work in your trial. God is seeking to work out his purposes in your trial, but Satan's trying to work out his purposes in your trial as well. When you look at the book of Job, you see that so clearly illustrated. Satan's trying to accomplish his purposes in Job's trial, but God is working to accomplish his purposes in Job's trial. Satan's working to try and discredit God and destroy Job. God is working to perfect Job and exalt himself. And it really comes down to us, to whose purposes will we yield? To God's or to Satan's? So don't have that attitude that I'm going to be damaged and harmed and scarred the rest of my life. Now, sure, if you ask Daniel, Daniel, are you the, you know, after that experience, would you say you're the same man? He'd probably say no. I mean, I've learnt some things I would never have known otherwise. Was it difficult, Daniel? Yes. But did you, but were you damaged and destroyed in your Christian walk, in your walk with God? No. came out unscathed, unscratched, unhurt. And God can do the same for you, dear brother or sister. As you go through that trial, he can bring you through it, and he can preserve you and keep you in the trial. Hebrews 13, five through six, I will never leave thee, promise of God, nor forsake thee, so that we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. So we have the preservation of Daniel and how God preserves us as we go through afflictions, praise God for it. The punishment then of Daniel's enemies, this is not Daniel inflicting his Revenge, this is God dealing with the enemy, and we must always remember that. It is not for us to take vengeance into our own hands, but to pray for our enemies and to maintain a right spirit. But the Lord dealt with these wicked men, the king commands, and they brought those men which had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions, them, notice this, their children and their wives, and the lions had the mastery of them and break all their bones in pieces wherever they came at the bottom of the den. These men paid a heavy price for their wickedness, and their wickedness also destroyed their families. Sin has far-reaching consequences, doesn't it? Dads, men, you choose to walk the path of compromise, the path of sin, that's going to cost your wife. That's going to cost your children something. The children and the wives were innocent in this. In fact, it's interesting that this practice was not allowed under Mosaic law. You would not put to death, the children were not to be put to death for the sins of the parents, nor the parents for the sins of the children. That was a godly law, but under the pagan nation here, this was a common practice. If you were an enemy of the state, your whole family would suffer with you. But the principle there, sin has far-reaching effects, and it damages others. but the Lord dealt with Daniel's enemy. So we see the triumph of Daniel's faith. He himself is delivered from the den, from the lion's den, and these wicked men have the very thing they intended against Daniel brought upon themselves, and God's justice was meted out upon them. Number three, last lesson tonight. The testimony of Daniel's faith. The testimony of Daniel's faith. We see this in the proclamation of Darius unto the nations. Then King Darius, verse 25, wrote, unto all people, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth, peace be multiplied unto you. been a few decrees like this now, hasn't there, when God reversed the order of things? I'll make a decree that in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble in fear before the God of Daniel. Why? For he is the living God. I believe Darius probably got saved, like Nebuchadnezzar. Indeed we believe, and steadfast forever in his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed and his dominion shall be even unto the end. He delivereth and rescueth and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions. Amazing testimony that came out of all of this on account of Daniel's faith. Think about if Daniel had compromised right back there as a young man. Think if he had buckled at the knees with Belshazzar. I think if he had compromised in this instance here, can you think about what the ramifications would be so far as testimony for the one true God was concerned? God was using Daniel to stand for him and to be a light in that dark nation and to provide ultimately a witness to the whole known world at that time through what was taking place as these events unfolded. So we have Darius's proclamation there. He was calling on men to reverence and respect the God of Daniel and we have four reasons why this decree was given and they all concern Daniel's God. Let me give them to you. He is the living God. This is the reality of God, the living God. The pagan gods were dead and lifeless but the God of Israel was real, the reality of God. The immutability of God and steadfast forever. God is unchanging, God is faithful, the immutability of God. The sovereignty of God and his kingdom, that which shall not be destroyed. And his dominion shall be even unto the end. God's kingdom is eternal and cannot be destroyed. The sovereignty of God. Aren't you thankful tonight for God, the fact that God's kingdom, God's throne will never be destroyed. His dominion lasts unto the end. And though the kingdoms of this world come and go, governments come, change, we see so much corruption, so much to cause us to be discouraged and dismayed, yet our God sitteth in the heavens, says the Psalms, and he hath done whatsoever he pleased. The sovereignty of God, his kingdom, that which shall not be destroyed. The activity of God, he worketh signs and wonders. He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions. God intervening into the affairs of men, demonstrating his power, and Daniel was an example of just that. So the testimony of Daniel's faith, this proclamation goes out, this testament to the one true God. Then we see in verse 28, Daniel's prosperity. Daniel's prosperity. So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian. Many ungodly men, as we've seen in the book of Daniel so far, came and went. Daniel continued on. and was a light in that place. Now it's interesting that Daniel lived, we know, at least until the third year of Cyrus. You can see that in Daniel 10 verse 1. This means that Daniel would have had the joy after all those years of captivity of witnessing the decree of Cyrus to allow the Jews to return to the land of Israel to rebuild their temple. What a blessing that would have been for Daniel. And to be able to, after all those years, praying towards Jerusalem, praying for his people, praying for the revival of his people, praying for God to do a work, praying concerning the captivity they found themselves in, in the land of Babylon, after all those years of faithfulness to God, to finally see come to fruition the answers to his heart cry for the people of God to be released and allowed back into the land. Now we don't believe that Daniel was a part of that delegation. He obviously died shortly after that. but he got to see it. And so what a blessing that was for Godly Daniel. So Daniel's faith. Trial of faith. Godly faith in God will be tested. The triumph of his faith. For Daniel, God's choice, God's will was for him to live. But whether in life or death, ultimately we triumph through our Lord Jesus. And then, the testimony that flowed out of that. Great testimony for the Lord. And I trust that maybe you can draw some applications to your own trials tonight, whatever they may be. If you're in the will of God, that God can preserve you, he can keep you, bring you through it, and ultimately, maybe you need to tonight say, Lord, I submit to this trial and pray that you would somehow get glory through it. And I'm willing. If you desire to put me through this painful situation, and if somehow that's going to bring honour to you, Lord, as hard as it is, I'll go through with thee, and I'll submit to thee. So let's pray. Father, we thank you again for the inspiring life of Daniel, what an encouragement he is to us. Thank you that this man was one who served you continually, a man who was consistent in his life and his walk with you. a man who would not bow the knee to the gods of this age, a man who would only bow the knee to thee and would not allow anything to stop him from doing that. Lord, though at this time we do enjoy relative peace in our nation, to be able to pray even like we're doing right now in public, Lord, we don't know what could be around the corner with evil laws being passed at an alarming rate in this nation to curb our freedoms. But Lord, if the time comes where an ungodly law is passed that could see us have direct conflict with the powers that be, help us, Lord, to not sell out on our convictions, but to stand for you and, Lord, to be faithful to you, no matter what the cost will be, and that through that we might be a testimony to thee, Lord. We pray for any tonight who are facing a den, as it were, or a fire of their own. Whatever that may be, Lord, trials come to us in your will in many different ways. Lord, help them somehow to see the bigger picture, that somehow they can glorify you, Lord, that good can be brought out of it if they will but trust you. Lord, believe in you, rest in you, and so encourage those who are experiencing that this evening, we pray, whoever they may be. In Jesus' name, amen.