When I Am Faced With a Trial
“Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his.21 He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.
22 He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him.23 I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors: You have given me wisdom and power, you have made known to me what we asked of you, you have made known to us the dream of the king.” Daniel 2:20-23
Intro: The story of Daniel in the bible starts out with him a 15 year-old boy.
He has been captured and taken prisoner into a foreign land.
The Babylonian Empire was the number one power in the world at that time.
Jump forward in time: Seventy years later Daniel has earned favor with the King Nebuchadnezzar.
But it did not start out that way.
Daniel had to face many trials in his life.
In today’s text he is faced with a trial that would result in either life or death.
One night Nebuchadnezzar had a disturbing dream.
He called in his magicians…, enchanters…, sorcerers…, and astrologers,
and he demanded that they tell him what he had dreamed.
As the astrologers stood before their king they answered him,
“Tell us your dream, and we will tell you what it means.”
But the king saw through their cleverness and said “I am serious about this.
If you don’t tell me what my dream was and what it means,
I will destroy you and your houses will be turned into heaps of rubble!
But if you tell me what I dreamed and what my dream means, I will give you many wonderful gifts and honors.
The astrologers replied to the king, “No one on earth can tell the king his dream!
And no King has ever asked such a thing of any of magician, enchanter, or astrologer!
They said, the king demands the impossible.
No one except the gods can tell you your dream, and they do not live here among us.
The king was furious when he heard this, and he ordered that all the wise men of Babylon be executed.
Daniel was considered to be among the wise men in the land.
And because of the king’s decree, men were sent to find and kill Daniel and his friends.
Today I want to talk to you about what I do “When I Am Faced With a Trial.”
I. Start with Praise
That’s number one.
Don’t be afraid.
Don’t sink into despair.
Don’t leap into desperation.
Instead of panic. Start with praise.
Daniel had a real reason to panic.
The King was going to find and kill all the wise men of Babylon.
If the government sent out someone to kill you…, that might be cause to be afraid.
But the Bible says Daniel handled the situation with wisdom and good judgment.
Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard told Daniel everything that had happened.
Daniel went at once to see the king and requested more time to tell the king what the dream meant.
This is an amazing young man.
Here is the most powerful kingdom on the planet has ordered his assassination.
The army shows up to kill him
and he handles the situation with wisdom and good judgment.
That really is incredible for a young teenager.
We can learn lot by looking at the way we handle our fears, frustrations, and trials.
We live in a fast paced world.
Constantly on our cell phones. Standing in line. Driving to or from school or work.
We almost never have a quiet time. We are seldom still. Unless we are completely exhausted.
Who among us has the wisdom and self –restraint to think before we react?
Oh, God of wisdom teach us to reflect your nature.
When Daniel was faced with a trial his answer was:
““Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his.
Most often people praise when something really good has happened.
When we are full we are more likely to praise
When we are employed we are more likely to praise
When we are exalted we are more likely to praise
I love the Wesleyan Covenant Pray.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering
Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee
Exalted for thee or brought low by thee
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing
We can’t wait till we are full to praise
We can’t wait till we are employed to praise
We can’t wait till we are exalted to praise
We can’t wait till we have all things to praise
Daniel praised God when his life was being threatened.
When everything he had was on the line.
Daniel praised God.
I love it when praise breaks out.
It just take one for it start.
It just takes one person being open to the Holy Spirit.
It starts when just one person says amen.
It starts when just one person stands and lifts up holy hands.
It is such a joy and so exciting to be a service when someone shouts "Hallelujah!" "Praise the Lord!"
II. Pray Like Daniel.
Believers need to learn and practice praying until we are comfortable with it.
People pray because they Believe
Hebrews 11:6 says, “He that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.”
I pray because I believe God hears my prayers
And he rewards those who diligently seek Him.
God can handle the things I can’t.
God cares about what is happening to me.
Let me encourage you, nothing is too hard or difficult for God.
I pray because I live less in the flesh and more in the Spirit.
“The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Mark 14:38).
Our flesh is opposed to anything spiritual and will fight us all the way.
Paul said, “For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh, for these are in contrary to one another” Galatians 5:17
The average Christian prays less than ten minutes a day.
If you want to see how strong your spirit is pray one hour every day.
I pray because I have a Spiritual Discipline
I am saved.
I am sanctified.
I am Spirit-Filled.
With discipline we will be able to spend quality time with God in prayer.
I Pray because Prayer is a Priority in my life.
I make time to pray.
The bible says “seek first His kingdom and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33).
Nothing should take priority over time with the Lord.
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Prayer.
Paul wrote, “You have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption whereby we cry out, Abba, Father” (Romans 8:15). “Because you are sons (and daughters),
God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, “Abba, Father” (Galatians 4:6).
When we are born again and we are stirred up with the Holy Spirit in prayer.
I have the Holy Spirit in me because I pray for a fresh charge of this Spirit of Prayer .
I pray to be filled anew with the Holy Ghost.
Daniel went home and told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah what had happened.
He urged them to ask the God of heaven to show them his mercy by telling them the secret,
so they would not be executed along with the other wise men of Babylon.
That night the secret of the dream was revealed to Daniel in a vision.
Do you have friends that you pray with?
Daniel was able to share with his friends the need
and to pray in the middle of a crisis.
O God help us to be able to express our praise and our pleas to you.
May our relationship be strong enough so that we can speak in the middle of an emergency
And not be embarrassed or apologetic.
I have never met anyone who thought they prayed too much, or they prayed too fervently.
People in bible such as Stephen in the book of Acts prayed in the Holy Spirit.
Stephen full of the Holy Spirit, looked steadfastly upward into heaven and saw a glimpse of the trinity
he saw Jesus standing in a place of honor at the Father’s right hand.
Stephen’s vision angered the Jewish leaders who had condemned Jesus to death for blasphemy.
They would not tolerate Stephen’s words so as he witnessed his faith and prayed
they drug him out into the street and stoned him to death.
People may not kill us for witnessing about Christian faith.
But they may let us know they don’t want to hear about Christ.
But don’t let them keep you silent.
Keep honoring God in your message.
Keep speaking the words faith
Some will not like it.
But some will turn and become followers of Jesus.
The killing of Stephen had an impact on Saul soon to become Paul.
Oh, listen I had rather be accused of talking too much about Jesus.
Than not talking about Jesus enough.
I had rather be accused of being a Jesus fanatic
Than be guilty of not sharing my faith.
I want to be heard praying for the lost and tell the world what Jesus is doing in my life.
Daniel told his friends what had happened.
He urged them to ask God to show mercy and to tell them the secret of Nebuchadnezzar dream.
The third thing you need to do is
III. Plan what do we do about it next.
I often find myself saying, “Let me think about that and get back with you.”
“Daniel asked Arioch, the captain of the guard ‘Why has the king issued such a harsh decree?’
So Arioch told him all that had happened.”
At this, Daniel went in to the king and asked for more time, so that he might interpret the dream for him.
Several years ago I was having difficulty with one particular gentleman in the church.
When I asked my SPPR Chair for advice he said, Pastor you need to learn to dance.
Thank goodness he was talking figuratively.
Dancers know that timing is everything and movement is everything.
They know when to proceed and when to stop.
They know when to soar high and when to swing down low.
They know how to pause gracefully
and when called upon they know how to be very competitive and strong.
That was some of the best advice I have ever learned.
It is when we fail to catch our breath that we panic.
Breathing in between the surges is what keeps us going.
We have places to go, things to do, life to live.
So the next time you are in between something difficult and where you want to be
Between a rock and hard place
Try something different.
Instead of pushing harder, pause and wait.
Instead of pounding your fist try to stay focus on what you need to do about it next.
Let God fill you with grace and purpose and plan.
Be sure of what God wants you to know and do.
When I am confidence that I know what God wants me to do next there is nothing that can stop me.
The road ahead becomes clear and the journey becomes refreshing and joyful.
In this step what you want to do is ask: what do I need to know in order to do what God wants me to do?
That’s what you ask.
That’s what you focus on.
The whole world can be falling apart around you.
Did you know that in 2010 the number one cause of teenage deaths was accidents mostly involving automobiles and recreation vehicles.
Did you know…
In 2014 the second leading cause of death of teenagers was homicide.
Street violence, murder, mass shootings.
This past year the second leading cause of teenage deaths changed to suicide.
More teenagers are taking their own life than ever before.
Life sometimes breaks into pieces.
Many are not equipped to deal with personal and emotional problems.
Somebody's world…, somebody’s life falls apart.
Something very bad and very serious happens
They could not handle it.
We need to learn and teach what to do when you face life’s biggest trials.
When you’re facing the impossible, what do I need to do?
Plan what you need to do next.
Don’t act impulsively.
When you act on impulse you are acting emotionally.
Some of our strongest emotions are anger, fear, sadness,
(of course love and joy are also strong emotions but those are not what we feel first in a crisis.)
Dear God teach us to face the trials in our lives as a chance to restart ourselves in your presence
And to gain clarity for the days ahead.
Here’s the fourth thing you do. Daniel did this.
IV. Praise, Pray, Plan, and Practice
Practice your Passions.
Here is where make us of the positive power of emotions become your strength.
You practice your Passions.
You have started out with praise thanking God in advance for the answer.
You have asked your friends to support you in prayer.
You have had time to think about and plan what you need to do next.
Now you Act on your Passions.
Daniel’s life is on the line.
The kingdom is in turmoil.
The king is off his rocker.
He’s about to kill everybody in his court, all of his advisors, including Daniel.
Daniel has some praising to do.
Daniel knows that only God can reveal the Kings dream.
Daniel begins to praise and worship God who
“reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him.”
Daniel has some praying to do.
He is going to be up all night praying.
He gets his closest friends to pray with him.
I’ve got to get some prayer support.
I’ve got to get my prayer warriors going.
Daniel had some planning to do.
He going to have to take some time to figure all this out.
He has to be patience and before he makes a decision.
He has to wait and trust the Lord.
Daniel is passionate and acts upon what God reveals to him.
Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to execute the wise men of Babylon, and said to him,
“Do not execute the wise men of Babylon. Take me to the king, and I will interpret his dream for him.”
Arioch took Daniel to the king at once and said, “I have found a man among the exiles from Judah who can tell the king what his dream means.”
The king asked Daniel, “Are you able to tell me what I saw in my dream and interpret it?”
Daniel replied, “No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries.
Here’s the interesting thing about this.
Daniel’s actions saves the lives of the evil magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers.
Daniel didn’t just save his own life he saved the life of all the others.
One of my favorite verses in the bible is Romans 5:8
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
This was an amazing action on Daniels part.
Daniel could have seized this opportunity to destroy and get rid of all the top advisors to the king
– there was a death sentence on all of them.
Daniel doesn’t do this – his first action is to go to the executioner tell him to hold off on his orders,
he saves their lives, and then goes to the king.
This teaches us that God is a merciful God.
There is story told of a young teenage girl who was caught for speeding.
She went to traffic court and found herself standing before her own father who was the judge.
He was all business and very tough on his daughter.
She was clocked speeding 95 miles per hour in 25 mile per hour school zone.
How do you plead guilty or not guilty?
She said in a very penitent voice, “Guilty your honor.”
The judge said, that will be a $5,000 dollar fine or five months in jail.
She began to cry as she realized she did not have the $5,000 dollars and certainly did not want to spend five months in jail.
But with tears in his eyes the judge took off his robe.
Stepped down from the judge’s stand .
Went to the bailiff.
Pulled out his own checkbook.
Wrote the check for $5,000 dollars
Went back up to the judge’s stand.
Put on his robe.
Rapped the gavel and pronounced. “Paid in full. You are free!”
In the same way Jesus Christ took off his robe by becoming human and paid the penalty for you.
He hung on the cross.
His last words before he died were, “It is finished.”
Which means “paid in full.”
The rest is up to us.
1 John 5:13 says, “These thing I have written to you… so that you may know you have eternal life.”
Have you come to that place in your life where you know for certain that your sins are forgiven?
This is the biggest Trial you will ever have to take in life.
It is the only trial that matters.
As for Daniel the trial was either life or death.
For you and I hear today the grade is either heaven or hell.
Daniel stood before the King and said, there is a God in heaven who reveals all things.
For you and I there is a judgment
And a God who knows all things.
The only way that you will pass the final trial is to have a relationship with Jesus Christ.
There is no other way.
Our relationship with Jesus makes it possible to pass the God trial.
Some of you here today need to work on that relationship.
You know it is not what it should be.
You have a difficult time celebrating your relationship with Jesus.
It has been a long time since you broke out into praise.
It is hard to pray in private.
And it is really hard to pray with other people, your friends, in the room.
You don’t have a plan.
You don’t know what God wants you to be doing to serve him.
So you don’t have a mission or ministry plan that you are following.
You are not taking action.
You are not sharing your faith.
You not planting new seed.
You are not winning new people to Christ.
You are not blooming.
Lets follow the example of Daniel.
Let’s Praise. Let’s Pray. Lets Plan. Lets Act on our Passion.
