Courageous Living: Faith Lessons from Daniel
06/29/2003 - Courageous Living in Impossible Situations
A few years ago a very unusual movie was released. It was unusual in the fact that it contained no violence, no sex, no foul language and a cast of actors and actresses that was virtually unknown at the time. It was a movie that I'm sure many of you have seen. And it spite of all those missing ingredients the film went on to win a number of Academy Awards, among them best picture of the year.
The movie tells the true story of a young man who gave up the opportunity to win a gold medal at the 1924 Olympics because his race was scheduled to be run on Sunday. And for this particular young man Sunday was not just another day. Sunday was the Sabbath. Sunday was the Lord's Day. And he had a strong conviction that he could not compete on Sunday.
And despite great pressure from his teammates, from other athletes and coaches, government officials and fans he stood by his conviction and forfeited the opportunity to win a gold medal in an event for which he had spent three years training to compete.
The athlete's name was Eric Liddell and the movie that tells his story is called Chariots of Fire . And at one point in the film when Eric first learns that his 100 meter race is scheduled for Sunday his coach says to him, "It's only a qualifying heat. Does it make all that much difference?" And after a pause Liddell says, "Yea. Yea it does." And at that point in the movie you can't help but be pulled into the strength of this man's resolve.
And so on Sunday, July 6, 1924, while all his teammates are competing at the stadium in Paris, Eric Liddell is preaching a sermon at a nearby church within ear shot of the referee's gun sounding the start of the 100 meter heats.
Eric Liddell lived courageously by his convictions. And there is something about people who have the courage to live by convictions that draw us to them. People like that earn our respect. Maybe that's because most of us know how easy it is to compromise, how easy it is to cave in to peer pressures, how easy it is to conform to the voices around us and not stand up for what we claim to believe. So when we see conviction in action we stand in awe, which is why that movie was so powerful.
Daniel, like Eric Liddell, was a man of conviction. He lived courageously. And last week we couldn't help but stand in awe of this teenager's resolve not to violate his conscience or the Word of God by eating the king's food. And God honored him for that. Because God says, Those who honor me, I will honor. And at the end of Daniel chapter one we read that, The king found Daniel and his friends to be ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom.
And now as the curtain rises on chapter two, Daniel's character will once again be tested. This morning we continue our series called Courageous Living: Faith Lessons from Daniel with a teaching I've called "Courageous Living in Impossible Situations." If you're facing an impossible situation right now where you feel like you're at the end of your rope, like there's no light at the end of the tunnel, like you're completely out of options, then God has a word for you. Turn in your Bible to Daniel 2.
Daniel 2:1, In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams. His mind was troubled and he could not sleep.
Remember Nebuchadnezzar is king of the most powerful empire in the world, Babylon. And that causes him a lot of stress. He takes that stress to bed with him, as we so often do, and it produces a nightmare. Later we learn that it was a nightmare about the future that God had planted in his mind. It was so troubling that he can't get back to sleep.
So we read in verse 2, So the king summoned the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers to tell him what he had dreamed. When they came in and stood before the king, 3 he said to them, "I have had a dream that troubles me and I want to know what it means."
Nebuchadnezzar is so upset by this dream that in the middle of the night he sends for his wise men to interpret it. He wants to know what it means right now. But then he pulls a fast one!
Look at verse 4, Then the astrologers answered the king in Aramaic, "O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream and we will interpret it." 5 The king replied to the astrologers, "This is what I have firmly decided. If you do not tell me what my dream was and interpret it, I will have you cut into pieces and your houses turned into piles of rubble."
The astrologers say, "Tell us the dream and we'll interpret it." But the king says, "Oh no. You tell me the dream and then interpret it or else you're going to be sliced and diced and your houses leveled." And you think you're boss is tough!
Verse 6, "But if you tell me the dream and explain it, you will receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. So tell me the dream and interpret it for me."
These guys are in an impossible, no win situation. They're not mind readers. They have no idea what the king dreamt. And you start to see their desperation in verse 7, Once more they replied, "Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will interpret it." 8 Then the king answered, "I am certain that you are trying to gain time, because you realize that this is what I have firmly decided. 9 If you do not tell me the dream, there is just one penalty for you. You have conspired to tell me misleading and wicked things, hoping the situation will change. So then, tell me the dream, and I will know that you can interpret it for me."
It sounds like we have a trust issue here! Nebuchadnezzar didn't trust these guys. People in his position have a hard time trusting anybody. The king was afraid that if he told them the dream, they would make up some kind of bogus interpretation. So the only way he felt that he could trust them was by having them tell him the dream. It was a game called "Truth or Consequences."
In verse 10, The astrologers answered the king, "There is not a man on earth who can do what the king asks! No king, however great and mighty, has ever asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or astrologer. 11 What the king asks is too difficult. No one can reveal it to the king except the gods, and they do not live among men."
At this point the wise men are wise enough to know that they're only men, human beings. They don't have the ability to reveal the king's dream. Only a god could do that, which makes the king come unglued.
Look at verse 12, This made the king so angry and furious that he ordered the execution of all the wise men of Babylon. 13 So the decree was issued to put the wise men to death, and men were sent to look for Daniel and his friends to put them to death.
The king was so ticked off that he wanted to kill the whole bunch including Daniel and his friends who weren't even involved in this midnight meeting. But because they were in the king's cabinet their heads were going to roll too.
Look at verse 14, When Arioch, the commander of the king's guard, had gone out to put to death the wise men of Babylon, Daniel spoke to him with wisdom and tact. 15 He asked the king's officer, "Why did the king issue such a harsh decree?" When 17 year-old Daniel hears about the order of execution he raises his hand and with wisdom and tact says, "Arioch, I have a question. Before you bulldoze my house and put me in body bag what did I do wrong? Where did I mess up?"
Arioch then explained the matter to Daniel. So Daniel gets the scoop on the whole thing, what the king was looking for and why he was so ticked off and then in verse 16 we read, At this, Daniel went in to the king and asked for time, so that he might interpret the dream for him.
The other wise men asked the king for the dream. Daniel doesn't ask the king for the dream. Instead, he asks the king for time so he can ask God for the dream. "You give me time and I'll give you an answer." And once again, Daniel is out on the edge of his faith. Daniel didn't have a clue at this point what the dream was about. But he was confident God could give him the answer.
Which brings us to the first insight on courageous living. Courageous living understands that faith is a decision to trust God. That's exactly what Daniel is doing. Daniel is making a decision to trust God. Faith is not a feeling. Faith is not a mystery. Faith is a decision you make that requires you to trust God for the outcome. It's not that complicated. We express faith every time we make a decision that honors God before we know the results. We saw it last week in Daniel 1 and we see it again in Daniel 2.
From day one Valley View Community Church has been a venture of faith. In the beginning, a few of us stepped out on a ledge and said, "God, we will follow you in this adventure, even though we don't know where you're going to lead us." We believed God was calling us to start a church from scratch with no money, with no building, with no people, just a vision for what God could do.
And there have been times along the way where that vision has been severely tested, when we didn't have many people or much money and still no building, but God has always proved himself to be faithful. And looking back on it now, after almost ten years, I wouldn't have missed this ride for anything. It's been the hardest, most thrilling ten years of my life and I believe that the best is still yet to come.
Faith means stepping out of our comfort zone to do what we know God wants us to do even before we know the results. Eric Liddell stepped out of his comfort zone and forfeited a medal in the 100 meter dash. But he came back to run a few days later and took an unexpected bronze medal in the 200 meters. And then a few days after that he blew everybody away winning a gold medal and setting a world record in the 400 meters, earning him the nickname "The Flying Scotsman."
Where are you expressing your faith in God right now? Where are you out on the ledge of your faith? Are you taking a stand at work? Refusing to do what everybody else does? Maybe there's a relationship where you need to take a faith risk to make something right. But you're not sure how that person's going to respond. Maybe it's financial. You're not honoring God with your giving because you're afraid your going to end up short changed.
Hebrews 11:6 says, Without faith it is impossible to please God. If we're not making any decisions to trust God, we're not pleasing God. God is pleased when we step out of our comfort zone and express our faith in him. That's what turns his crank. That's why he loved to work with Daniel.
Let's see what happens in verse 17, Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah.
Daniel gets his stay of execution and the first thing he does is run to his three friends and tell them that they are in deep weeds. He says, "Guess what guys? King Nebuchadnezzar had this dream. And not only does he want it interpreted, but he wants us to tell him what he dreamed! And if we don't we're toast."
I can just see these three guys lean forward, mouths hanging open saying, "What did you tell him?" Daniel says, "I told him, 'No problem.'" "No problem! What are you crazy? How are we going to tell him what he dreamed?"
Which brings us to the second insight on courageous living and that is this. Courageous living relies on the power of community. Daniel went right to his primary community for support. He went to his three closest friends for help. He didn't try to tackle this impossible situation all by himself. He had friends to go to. Community is God's way of supporting us in times of trouble during impossible situations.
Who do you go to when you're facing an impossible situation? Who makes up your Christian community? At Valley View we long for everyone who calls this their church home is to be in significant community with a few other people that they can go to in times of trouble and who can come to them as well. Courageous living is not a solo sport. It is done in community.
This week was extremely difficult for a very close friend of mine and of Valley View's . His wife delivered a stillborn child on Tuesday night, less than one month before their baby was due. It was a shock to all of us.
And on Monday afternoon, shortly after they first discovered the news, my friend picked up the phone and called some of his closest friends to be there for him. And we were. We were there to listen and to pray and to read God's Word and to walk through a tragic, impossible situation. There's going to be a lot more walking to do, but my friend is going to make it because a powerful community of supportive friends surrounds him.
Do you have "go to" people in your life? Who is your Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah? Who's on your list? Who would you call when life hits the fan? Who would call you? We live in a culture that prides itself on rugged individualism. Independence is the American way. But it's not God's way. God's way is interdependence. God is honored in a spirit of community. And its through community that God sends his children support in times of trouble.
Now look at verse 18 and see what they did. Daniel urged them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that he and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
Stop right here for a third insight. Courageous living believes in the power of prayer. They met to pray, not to figure out a solution, not to solve the problem, or discuss their options, or plan their escape, or gripe, or moan, or gossip. They didn't meet to hold a pity party. They met to pray and to wait on God. And in doing that they were saying, "God, you have the answer. We don't. Please reveal it to us." For Daniel and his friends, prayer was not their last resort. So often it can be my last resort. I turn to prayer after everything else I've tried fails. But for them it was their first resort. And God answered.
Look at verse 19, During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. God answered prayer. Daniel got his answer. God came to him in the night and revealed the dream to him in a vision. And if I'm Daniel I'm taking notes. Then I'm jumping out of bed, getting' dressed and making a beeline for the king's palace. I want to tell Nebuchadnezzar about the dream before this fickle king starts axing people. But that's not what Daniel does. Instead he takes time to hold a personal worship service!
Look at verse 19, Then Daniel praised the God of heaven 20 and said , Praise be to the name of God forever and ever. Wisdom and power are his. 21 He changes times and seasons. He sets up kings and deposes them. 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, O God of my fathers. 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.
It's interesting that the content of his prayer isn't mentioned, but the content of his praise is. Which brings us to the last insight. Courageous living knows how to praise and worship God.
Even in the midst of the tragedy this week we praised and worshiped God because he is good and he is loving and he is in control and his ways are higher than our ways. He makes no mistakes and he'll walk with us through the depths of our struggles.
Quickly verse 24, Then 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." 25 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." 26 The king asked Daniel (also called Belteshazzar), "Are you able to tell me what I saw in my dream and interpret it?" 27 Daniel replied, "No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about, 28 but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. He has show King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come. Your dream and the visions that passed through your mind as you lay on your bed are these.
And in verses 29-45 we have the dream and the interpretation, which we'll talk about next week. It's a fantastic prophecy about the future. Then, verse 46, King Nebuchadnezzar fell prostrate before Daniel and paid him honor and ordered that an offering and incense be presented to him. 47 The king said to Daniel, "Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery. 48 Then the king placed Daniel in a high position and lavished many gifts on him. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and placed him in charge of all its wise men. 49 Moreover, at Daniel's request the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego administrators over the province of Babylon, while Daniel himself remained at the royal court.
The story has a happy ending. The king honors Daniel and Daniel spreads out the credit to his community and his friends are honored as well. And we learn that when God's on our side there's always a way out. There's always a light at the end of the tunnel, a knot at the end of our rope. He can be trusted even in impossible situations.
The year after the 1924 Olympics, Eric Liddell went to China as a teacher and a missionary. He was ordained and married in 1933 and ministered for Christ in isolated Chinese villages. His motto was "complete surrender." But in March of 1943, he along with a number of other Americans and Brits were arrested and placed in a Japanese prison camp. His health quickly went down hill and his body was ravaged by a brain tumor that took his life at the age of 43. His last words to the camp nurse were, "It's complete surrender." And the last words of the article on his life that I read this week were, "Honor God in all you do, and He will honor your obedience with a life that counts for eternity. 'Complete surrender' to Christ is total victory."