Introduction
SHARP – The word “change” is a powerful word. At the very thought of “change” varying emotions of fear, anxiety, excitement, anticipation, caution, can be felt depending on the circumstances and context in which the thought of “change” occurs.
Illustration
We all experience change. While you are sitting here you are changing. During this message about ½ million cells in your body are going to die and be replaced with a half a million new cells during my message. You are being made new just sitting here. How awesome is that! Our skin replaces itself every month. Your stomach lining undergoes a complete change in 5 days. Your liver every 6 weeks and your skeleton every 3 months. Change is natural. Our bodies are continually changing. It is the natural aging process where we gradually get older and hopefully wiser.
Illustration
Isaac Newton’s First Law of Motion states “everything continues in a state of rest unless it is compelled to change by forces impressed upon it.” Everyone in this room either has experienced, is experiencing, or will experience change by forces impressed upon you. It could be PCS, ETS, change of career, change of position or responsibility, marriage, divorce, birth of a child, death of a loved one, deployment, redeployment, etc. One thing that is constant in our lives is change. As we experience these varying types of change sometimes we don’t handle it very well. Sometimes we become “testy”, or angry, sometimes simply unbearable. Sometimes, depending upon the situation, we may even lose hope. We can learn how to cope with change in a positive manner by the example of a young teenage boy named Daniel.
Background
In approximately 605BC the lives of the Israelites were turned upside down when Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem. Defeat itself is humiliating but what was even worse was the looting of the Temple. The holy vessels used in worship were taken and placed in the shrine of a pagan god. Also, some of the citizens of Jerusalem were taken into exile in Babylon. Four of those mentioned here are young teenage boys named Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. They are now living in a foreign land. They are living in a foreign culture that did not care about the things of God and offered them opportunities to do things and participate in things that they never imagined. They were far away from their families and anyone who would have provided supervision or guidance. Lets learn from Daniel how to cope with change.
I. Look Up
The first thing we need to do when coping with change is to LOOK UP. Take your eyes off of your circumstances and “fix your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of your faith who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” When we focus upon our circumstance we are taking a world view that is short sighted and distorted. All we can see are our immediate circumstances. But when we focus upon God and who He is and who He says we are then we gain a biblical view of the world and we remember that our citizenship is in heaven and whether I am in Germany, or Iraq, or Afghanistan, or Houston, Texas or wherever any of us claim to be from we realize that we are just passing through as we pursue God until that day when our pursuit is over and we have arrived home with Him.
a.) God is in Control – As we LOOK UP and receive a biblical view of the world we remember that God is in control. Verse 2 shows us that God is active in this event because it says that “the Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the articles from the temple of God.” This probably should not have come as a surprise since he told the people through the prophet Isaiah approximately 100 years before that this was going to happen when he said, “The time will surely come when everything in your palace, and all that your fathers have stored up until this day, will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the Lord. And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood who will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon." I’m sure Daniel and his friends did not understand what was going on or why. They probably had lot’s of “why God?” questions. But ultimately, they knew that God was in control and He would carry them through.
b.) God is with You – The second thing that happens when we LOOK UP and receive a biblical view of the world is that we remember that God is always with us. We are all familiar with the Great Commission found in Mat 28:19-20. We all know that Jesus commands us to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” But a lot of times we forget the very end of verse 20 where Jesus says, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." He isn’t just there sometimes. He is with you ALWAYS. He isn’t there just for part of the journey. He is with you every step of the way on your journey home to be with Him and then for all eternity. There is no place that you can be that He is not there with you. He is with you in the good times and the bad times. Before leading the Israelites into the Promised Land God told Joshua 3 times “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” God tells you today, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
c.) God has Authority – The third things that happens when we Look Up is that we remember that God has Authority. Nebuchadnezzar was a smart guy. He knew all about war and the need for winning the “hearts and minds” of his newly conquered people. He began a program of indoctrination. He was going to teach these new subjects how to think and act the Babylonian way. He took young men from the royal family and nobility who were smart. He wanted young men so that he could influence them and they in turn could influence others and thereby he would begin winning over the next generation. He started off his indoctrination by changing their names. By changing their names Nebuchadnezzar was letting them know that he is the one who has authority over them, that their heritage is forever lost and now he controls their destiny. A person’s name reflected their background and character.
Illustration
Alexander the Great, one of the greatest warriors of all time, was holding court one day when some military officials escorted before him a young soldier. This young soldier was caught running away from battle. Alexander the Great said, “Soldier, tell me your name.” The soldier replied “Alexander.” Alexander the Great said again, “Soldier what is your name?” The Soldier replied “Alexander.” Once again Alexander the Great asked, “Soldier, what is your name!?” The soldier replied “Alexander.” Alexander the Great then said, “Either change your conduct or change your name.” God says to us, “What is your name?” “Christian.” “What is your name?” “Christian.” “What is your name?” “Christian.” Either change your conduct or change your name.
God gives each of us a new name when we accept Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross for our sins. Our name is changed to Christian, Child of God, forgiven, redeemed. We become adopted by God the Father and we have an inheritance awaiting us in heaven. Nothing anyone says or does to us can change who we are because God has authority over all things and He says we are His. But many times we forget not only who we are but whose we are.
II. Live Out Your Faith – That leads us to our second point. In order to cope with change we first need to Look Up and second we need to Live Out Our Faith.
Illustration – A man fell off a cliff, but managed to grab a tree limb on the way down. The following conversation ensued:
"Is anyone up there?"
"I am here. I am the Lord. Do you believe me?"
"Yes, Lord, I believe. I really believe, but I can’t hang on much longer."
"That’s all right, if you really believe you have nothing to worry about. I will save you. Just let go of the branch."
A moment of pause, then: "Is anyone else up there?"
Sometimes faith is easier to talk about than to live out. James says that faith without works is useless.
a) God Honors Godly Character - As we live out our faith God will honor Godly character. Take a look at Daniel. He is in a foreign land. Parents are nowhere to be found and are not looking over his shoulder. He is being offered the choicest foods from the king’s table. All his other Israelite friends are doing it (except Shadrach, Meshac, and Abednego). Imagine the peer pressure that is on this young man and the temptation he is experiencing. But the text says in verse 8 that “Daniel purposed in his heart not to defile himself.” He was committed to keeping himself pure before God. He was steadfast in his convictions. He was not going to compromise his values.
As we experience change and move from one location to another, endure long separations, and encounter different cultures and temptations, we have to also purpose in our heart to be obedient to God, to not compromise our values. Singles, God will honor sexual purity. Married couples, God will honor a marriage in which divorce is not an option.
b) Trust God – As you live out your faith by exhibiting Godly character and not compromising your values Trust God to help you. Daniel went to the guard and asked to be given only vegetables. God is able to work in the lives of even those who do not believe in him. God moved in the lives of the guards to show favor to Daniel and his 3 friends. But the guard was more afraid of King Nebuchadnezzar than God whom he did not know. Daniel’s faith however was unwavering and he knew that God was going to honor his faithfulness and said to the guard, “just try it and see for yourself.” At the end of the 10 day trial Daniel and his friends appeared to be better nourished than all the rest.
III. Look Ahead Expectantly – To cope with change we need to Look Up, Live Out Our Faith, and third we need to Look Ahead Expectantly. Daniel fully expected God to honor their faith. He expected God to work in their lives. He expected God to deliver them from their circumstances he just did not know how God was going to do it.
a) God is Preparing You – God was preparing these young men for the service he was calling them to. He was preparing them now for the future. Verse 17 says “To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning.” God gave them knowledge and understanding, not King Nebuchadnezzar. God gave them the opportunity to learn, the ability to learn, and the tolls to learn with. God was preparing to elevate them to positions of leadership within Babylon so that they could bring glory to God as they continued to not compromise their values when they were told to bow down and worship a false god or told not to pray to any god but King Nebuchadnezzar. God elevated them to high positions so that their faith would be visible for all to see and that by living out their faith they were giving testimony of the One True God who is Lord of All.
Jer 29:11 says “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” As you encounter trials and change remember that God is preparing you for the future. He is trying to draw you closer to Him so that you will trust in Him and lean on Him rather than your own strengths and abilities.
b) God Will Carry Out His Plan - God is faithful to carry out His plans for “he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” God’s plans don’t always occur over night. Daniel and his friends spent 3 years being trained in Babylonian culture and education systems. God was at work in their lives during that time also. At the end of the 3 years the King questioned them and “he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah;… In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom.”
God did exceedingly abundantly more than could have been asked or imagined in the lives of these 4 Israelites. He is able to do exceeding abundantly more than you or I are able to imagine in our lives as well.
I don’t know what you are experiencing today or what you will experience in the near future but I know that God does and I know that He has a perfect plan for you. A part of that plan is that He desires for you to know Him more and to trust Him more. If you have never received just Christ as your personal Lord and Savior and asked him to forgive you of your sins then please talk to me before you leave today.
Conclusion
In closing…
Illustration – You can tell what is inside a wet sponge by pressing on it and watch what comes out. As the changes of life and circumstances press in on us people will be able to watch and see what is inside of us. If we Look Up, Live Out Our Faith, and Look Ahead Expectantly, then people will see the Holy Spirit ooze out when we get pressed.
