08/13/17 When You Just Can t Figure Life Out Daniel 2: 1-23 Pastor David Pranga, Brewster Baptist Church

Transcription

1 08/13/17 When You Just Can t Figure Life Out Daniel 2: 1-23 Pastor David Pranga, Brewster Baptist Church Good morning, my name is David Pranga. I am one of the pastors here at Brewster Baptist Church. Pastor Doug is gone celebrating his son s wedding. He will be back next week. I need you to put on your thinking caps for me. I realize it s easy to be thinking about going to the beach, visiting with friends, or even what chores you plan on doing around the house today. Remember, I sit in those seats most Sundays. I know what you re thinking. I know your mind can wander. I need you to clear your mind and be free of any distractions. Here is what I want you to do. I want you to think of a significant problem you are currently facing, or a major problem you have faced in the past few years. This problem probably caused you a lot of anxiety in your life. This problem probably caused you a lot of stress. Your mind was probably constantly thinking about this issue. This problem probably kept you up at night. Most likely, you lost sleep over it. Whether you realized it or not, it probably caused stress to the people around you. Can you think of a problem that you are either going through, or had to endure in the past few years? I hope each of us has a problem that has popped into our mind? For some of us, the major problem that pops in our mind dealt with our health. We may have gone to the doctor, and he gave us some bad news. The doctor may have said to us, you need to have surgery, or need to go through chemo, or even radiation treatment. There might be months of rehab in order to deal with this problem or get better. This news may have caused some anxiety in your life. For some of us, our problem might be work-related. There may be a co-worker or boss that may rub us the wrong way, and no matter how much you want to get along, it just doesn t happen. Or, there is a project that baffles us. We just cannot figure out how to get started or get it unstuck. And for some of us in this room, when we thought of work, it reminded us of when we lost a job. Losing that job may have put you in a tailspin both emotionally and financially. And there are others in this room that our first thought was family. The major problem was our spouse. The dream of the perfect family did not happen. There has been more arguing than romance. The marriage you wanted is not there for either of you. For some, when I said family, divorce came to mind. The painful experience some of us have gone through. For some, it was our relationship with our children or grandchildren. Thinking about family is troubling. To some in this room, we thought about the loss of a loved one. It may have been a parent or spouse or even a child. When we go through that experience, it rocks us to the core. We are in a fog for a time. We don t know actually how to move forward. We have all sorts of questions. There are others in this room that the problem of finances came to mind. Life has been going good but then you missed paying one bill and then another. A car breaks down, and it pushes you back more. You get sick, and you have medical bills. Then, you realize that the hole is way too deep. Finances are what keep you up at night. 1

2 We may have some students in this room. There are plenty of problems that students go through as well: grades, friends and relationships, parent s divorce, or the struggle of switching schools and trying to make new friends. As teenagers you may be wondering, Why God, is this happening to me? Every one of us will face a major problem or difficult situation in our life. Whether we are going through one currently or we just finished up with one, or are waiting for the next one to hit us. Each of us faces problems. Each of us faces trials that we have to deal with. Let me ask you a question? What do you do when problems or trials arise? What do you do when you can t figure life out? I want you think back to how you felt going through the problem? Can you remember how you felt during that time in your life? Do you remember those feelings you had? Some of us felt helpless during this difficult problem we faced. For some of us, we felt hopeless or confused about the situation. You may even have felt like you were in a fog not sure what to do. For some of us we just felt desperate and alone; not sure where to turn and who to trust. Does anybody know what I am talking about? Can you relate to having a problem and just feeling lost? What do you do when you face a problem or a situation: When You Just Can t Figure Life Out? If you are visiting with us today or are new to BBC, each month we are studying a different book of the Bible. This month we are looking at the book of Daniel. Daniel is a great book that deals with faith, perseverance, and hardships. I want to invite you to take the challenge of reading through the book of Daniel this month. The Book of Daniel seeks to bring hope and encouragement to those who are going through difficult and trying times. Each week, we ll see how Daniel faces the problems that come his way. We ll see how Daniel handles the obstacles and problems that come his way. This morning, Patti read from the first half of Daniel Chapter 2. We learned about a King named Nebuchadnezzar, who ruled over the land of Babylon. One night, King Nebuchadnezzar has this terrible dream. The king woke up, and could not go back to sleep. The king was bothered and troubled by this dream. As C.S. Lewis said, there are dreams that make you afraid to sleep again. I believe the King had one of those dreams. In the ancient world, kings believed that dreams were a shadow of the future. King Nebuchadnezzar knew without a doubt that this dream meant something to his kingdom. It meant something to Him. King Nebuchadnezzar faced a big problem. This dream was powerful, and the king needed to learn what it meant. The king did not have any answers. In King Nebuchadnezzar s case, he calls for the wise men of the day. The king called on the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and astrologers. The king called for the most educated people of the land: those who had training with dreams and interpretations. The king called these wise men to do two things: 1) To tell the king what he dreamed. 2) To share the interpretation of the dream. 2

3 Can you image how these wise men would have felt upon hearing the demands of their boss, the king? They had to think that the king was crazy. Daniel 2:4-6, Then the astrologers answered the king, May the king live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will interpret it. 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. 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. I believe this may be the perfect example of a boss s dream becoming your worst nightmare. I cannot imagine Doug coming to my office and saying, I had a dream last night. It was a terrible dream. It kept me up all night. David, I want you to tell me 1) what was in my dream and 2) what it meant. It would be insane to think that I or anyone could do that. That is what King Nebuchadnezzar expected of his wise men. These were the wisest men of all in Babylon. The king thought to himself, if you are so wise, tell me what I dreamed, and tell me what it means? The king asks a second and third time to the wise men. Each time, I can imagine how anxious the king is getting, and how the wise men wanted to change things. How do the wise men respond? Daniel 10:10-11, there is no one 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. What the king asks is too difficult. No one can reveal it to the king except the gods, and they do not live among humans. The wise men knew they were in trouble. They knew that they did not have a leg to stand on. The wise men knew they could not solve the problem of the dream. No matter how much they tried to fix it themselves, they were stuck. Can you image how the wise men felt? They were dealing with a problem they had no control over, and a boss that wanted an impossible outcome. Can you imagine the pressure, stress and anxiety they must have felt? The wise men in with all their education and experience could not figure out the dream or interpretation. The wise men decided to level with the king and say this is impossible. There is no one on earth that can solve this problem: who could tell the king what his dream was and then interprets it. Remember what the wise men said, Only God could reveal it to the king! As we go back to the story, this made the king so angry and furious that he ordered the execution of all the wise men of Babylon, which leads us to a man named Daniel. Daniel believed in God, who created all creation. As you can recall from last week, Daniel was taken captive from his land. His name was changed by the king. He was taken away, and thrown in school to be a wise man. At this time, Daniel had finished his three years of school and had become one of the wise man. As Daniel and his friends trusted in God, we learned they grew in wisdom and knowledge. In chapter 1, Daniel and his friends were 10 times smarter than any of the king s wise men. Daniel had learned to interpret dreams. God was with them because they trusted in Him. They looked to God for their wisdom and knowledge. Daniel quickly finds out that the king gave the decree to kill all the wise men. This included Daniel and his friends. Daniel knew his life was in danger. Daniel is left with an impossible situation: one that he did not create for himself. Daniel may have thought why is this happening to me? I have 3

4 been taken from my homeland. I had my name changed. I had to learn Babylonian culture. Yet now, I am going to be executed because the king wants his dream told to him and interpreted. What is Daniel to do? I want us to continue the story in Daniel 2:16-18, At this, Daniel went in to the king and asked for time, so that he might interpret the dream for him. Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. He 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. There are times when each of us will find ourselves in difficult, tough and heartbreaking situations. There will be times we may not know where to turn. When these situations and problems arise, where do we turn? What do we do when the storms of life come our way? Where do we go for help? For many of us, I believe we try to do it on our own. We try to figure out life s storms by ourselves? For many of us, that is how we were taught. We were raised not to rely on any one person, but to do it by ourselves. We would put all our passion and energy towards solving the problem. Yet, there are times where that just won t work. We don t understand why. For some of us, we rely on friends and family. We know that we cannot do it. We need support, encouragement and help. We realize the need for other people is huge. We go to our friends for help. If the friend cannot help us, we may look for another friend, and then maybe another friend. The thought of calling on God is foreign to us. Daniel and his friends take a different approach than many of us. Daniel goes to God first; Daniel who loves God, Daniel who is faithful to God, Daniel who has seen God work in previous ways and in past situations. Daniel had hope that God would come through in this situation. Daniel goes to the king and asks for more time so that Daniel could call on his God. Daniel is granted the time to pray. Daniel gathers his friends for an all-night prayer meeting. Daniel and his friends plead for mercy from God concerning this mystery. Daniel prayed and cried out desperately to God for help with their problem. Daniel is not afraid to ask God for help. He has done it before. Daniel shared with God his problem and the situation he and his friends were in. Daniel invites God to be a part of the solution to the problem they are facing. Daniel knew that God was real. Daniel and his friends knew they could trust God. Daniel knew that God was in control of all things. God was bigger than King Nebuchadnezzar. If anybody could reveal the dream to Daniel, it would have to be God. As we continue to Daniel 2:19, During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Imagine Daniel s faith and perseverance, when God did show up. God reveals the dream to Daniel. God reveals to Daniel the interpretation to the king s dream as well. It must have been an unbelievable feeling knowing that God came through once again. Think back to the prayers that Daniel and his friends were saying just a few hours before; when things seemed impossible; when life was not making much sense. Daniel went to God. We see that God comes through again for Daniel and his friends. I want everyone to understand. We see, in this chapter, that the God of the universe hears our prayers. We see God wants to be involved in our lives. We see the God of the universe answers our 4

5 prayers. For me, knowing that God cares about my problems in life brings me hope and encouragement! Above all, God wants to be glorified. He is the one who is in control, not a king, or false gods, but the One True God. That is why verses are so important. Let us continue to read Chapter 2: What does Daniel do upon waking up? Then Daniel praised the God of heaven and said: Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his. He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him. 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. When God answers Daniel s prayer, what does Daniel do? Daniel immediately praises God! Daniel lifts praises to the God of the universe. Daniel is smart enough to know that he is not the one who came up with the solution to the dream and its interpretation. It was God that gave the dream and its meaning to Daniel. Daniel is our example that we need to praise God in all circumstances. Daniel understood that he was being used by God to be an example to the people around him. Daniel realized that God was using him to reach the king. Daniel knew that all the wise men and guards were paying attention. We see later in chapter 2 that Daniel brings the glory upon God and not on himself. As we continue through the book of Daniel, we will see God continually use Daniel and his friends to show that Daniel s God is real and powerful: the one True God. God makes this known to King Nebuchadnezzar, the wise men and the court officials. When we pray for something, whether it is a small prayer request like when we lose our keys and then find them. We should praise God. If we are going through something major, complex or difficult like cancer, we should praise God as well. We need to thank God for answering our prayers. Why do we thank God? When we thank God, we are showing Him respect and gratitude. When we thank God, we are lifting Him up. We are saying that He is worthy of our praise. We are giving Him glory. Sometime people ask me, why do you think God has me go through so many struggles? I believe that God uses the problems and struggles that come our way to build our faith. I believe that helps us to refocus on who is important. We focus on ourselves way too much. We should be focusing on God. I also believe that when we go through struggles, we learn to persevere. Our faith in God becomes strong. Our faith deepens through the experience of trials and tribulations. I believe that God uses the struggles we have to build our faith and the faith of people around us. What did we learn this morning? A quick snapshot in case somebody asks you on the way home. 1. All of us will go through problems in this life. For some, we are going through them right now. For others, we are coming out of them. And for others, you will begin to go through another one shortly. 5

6 2. We need to be people of prayer. When we go through these struggles and problems, do we do it alone and in our own power? Or, do we invite God to be a part of it. Do we trust God with our problems? Are we willing to pray and ask God for help? 3. We need to thank God for hearing and answering our prayer. I firmly believe that God does answer prayer. We need to be people who thank God and praise God. God does answer prayer in His own way. 4. God uses problems to grow our faith in Him. Can you imagine how much faith Daniel and his friends had when God answered their prayer? It must have been incredible. When God answered their prayers, their faith increased, as well as the people close to them. I believe when we share with people that we are praying for them, and God answers our prayers, the person we are praying for sees God at work, and their faith increases as well. I know there are people here this morning that are going through a difficult time in their life right now. You may feel like God is not there for you. You may not feel like your prayers are being answered. You may feel all alone. God does not want you to feel alone. When I read Daniel s story about being a man of prayer, and how Daniel and his friends trusted God, it reminds me that God wants us to come to Him with our problems. No matter how small or large they are, God wants a relationship with you. God wants to be part of your life. God uses these difficult times in our life to grow us deeper spiritually and closer to him. God gives us hope because He loves you! God will come through even in the most impossible situations. Why? God wants to grow your relationship with Him in a deeper way, and be glorified in your life. I leave you with a quote from Corrie Ten Boom, When you face an impossible challenge in life, if you look around, you ll be distressed. If you look within, you ll be depressed. But if you look up, you ll be at rest. Let us pray. 6