Striving For Excellence While Navigating Change Series

Sermon – Striving for Excellence While Navigating Change

Scripture – Daniel 5:13-26 “So Daniel was brought in before the king. The king asked him, “Are you Daniel, one of the exiles brought from Judah by my predecessor, King Nebuchadnezzar? I have heard that you have the spirit of the gods within you and that you are filled with insight, Understanding, and wisdom. My wise men and enchanters have tried to read the words on the wall and tell me their meaning, but they cannot do it. I am told that you can give interpretations and solve difficult problems. If you can read these words and tell me their meaning, you will be clothed in purple robes of royal honor, and you will have a gold chain placed around your neck. You will become the third highest ruler in the kingdom.” Daniel answered the king, “Keep your gifts or give them to someone else, but I will tell you what the writing means.

Daniel 5:22-30 “You are his successor, O Belshazzar, and you knew all this, yet you have not humbled yourself. For you have proudly defied the Lord of heaven and have had these cups from his Temple brought before you. You and your nobles and your wives and concubines have been drinking wine from them while praising gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone—gods that neither see nor hear nor know anything at all. But you have not honored the God who gives you the breath of life and controls your destiny! So God has sent this hand to write this message. “This is the message that was written: Mene, mene, tekel, and Parsin. This is what these words mean: Mene means ‘numbered’—God has numbered the days of your reign and has brought it to an end. Tekel means ‘weighed’—you have been weighed on the balances and have not measured up. Parsin means ‘divided’—your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians.” Then at Belshazzar’s command, Daniel was dressed in purple robes, a gold chain was hung around his neck, and he was proclaimed the third highest ruler in the kingdom. 30 That very night Belshazzar, the Babylonian king, was killed.

Introduction: I was thinking about the story of Rip Van Winkle, a small time farmer who wanders into the Catskill Mountains, where he comes upon a group of dwarfs playing a game similar to bowling. Rip accepts their offer of a drink of liquor and promptly falls asleep. When he awakens, 20 years later, he is an old man with a long white beard; the dwarfs are nowhere in sight. Rip Van Winkle" does have a moral, or lesson. The message of "Rip Van Winkle" is that change is inevitable and necessary. When he went to sleep the sign in town displayed and picture of King George of England, now the sign said, President George Washington. Rip Van Wrinkle had slept through a revolution.

Change is always happening in one way or another in our lives, sometimes in small ways and other times in significant ways. Major life changes, whether planned or unplanned, always impact people’s lives. While life transitions are a natural part of being human, navigating change isn’t always easy. Facing the unknown can sometimes cause feelings of stress, anxiety, fear, worry, or depression, Daniel learned to navigate change in a healthy way that fosters growth and resilience. He remained open, accessible and available to be used again. Being recently retired, no longer a pastor or denominational leader, makes it challenging to remain relevant. Moving from a place of national prominence to a place of limited responsibility and usefulness is challenging for all. Striving for excellence means learning to navigate change in a healthy way.

Babylon had gone through sweeping changes and Daniel’s position was swept away in the process. King Nebuchadnezzar who had favored and promoted Daniel has been replaced by His grandson, Belshazzar. Daniel has been replaced and retired. He is no longer the hand of the king, no longer recognized for his ability. Daniel has spent his adult life in Babylon, he had been in a place of prominence since he was 17 years old. Now he has been pushed into the background. How do you handle being pushed aside? Do you become bitter or better? Do you withdraw or can you still remain available? We talked about the fact that striving for excellence means maintaining your integrity and living upright in a strange land; it means choosing Godly friends who will hold you accountable, pray for you and with you. It means standing on an uncompromising faith. It also means being able to navigate change. The only certain thing in this life is change. Life and business are like the changing seasons. You cannot change the seasons, but you can change yourself. Daniel had learned how to navigate the changing seasons in Babylon. There are Summers and Winters, springs and fall seasons of life. If we are going to strive for excellence, we must learn how to handle the changing seasons of life.