Purpose Under Pressure

Build Connection

Almost every good story, whether in a book, movie, poem, wherever, follows a familiar pattern.

First you introduce the characters, setting, and any other important information.

Second, you place them in a difficult situation.

Third, you get them out of that difficult situation.

And they live happily ever after.

Think about your favorite movie, doesn’t it follow the same pattern?

In a romance movie, they introduce the characters including the love interest. One person isn’t interested or there is a challenge to overcome for the relationship to work, but in the end they get married with a great celebration.

The bigger the challenge in the second act to overcome, the more intense the movie, the better we tend to like it.

And with in all good movies there is a plot twist. Something unexpected that you didn’t see coming.

Create Tension

The one story in which we don’t like the second act being a bigger challenge or more intense is in the story of our life!

We don’t want the relationship issue to have to overcome.

We don’t want that health issue to challenge us.

We don’t want that threat to our finances to be so intense in our lives.

We don’t want that struggle to live out our faith in our lives.

And yet we have them.

What should we do when we face these things, how should we respond?

That’s what we will talk about this morning.

Provide Solution

We are in our second week of our series, “Daniel, Faith that Outlasts Empires” and in the second chapter of Daniel we see the plot that makes a good movie or book play out.

Let’s read Daniel 2:1–13

“1 One night during the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had such disturbing dreams that he couldn’t sleep. 2 He called in his magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and astrologers, and he demanded that they tell him what he had dreamed. As they stood before the king, 3 he said, “I have had a dream that deeply troubles me, and I must know what it means.” 4 Then the astrologers answered the king in Aramaic, “Long live the king! Tell us the dream, and we will tell you what it means.” 5 But the king said to the astrologers, “I am serious about this. If you don’t tell me what my dream was and what it means, you will be torn limb from limb, and your houses will be turned into heaps of rubble! 6 But if you tell me what I dreamed and what the dream means, I will give you many wonderful gifts and honors. Just tell me the dream and what it means!” 7 They said again, “Please, Your Majesty. Tell us the dream, and we will tell you what it means.” 8 The king replied, “I know what you are doing! You’re stalling for time because you know I am serious when I say, 9 ‘If you don’t tell me the dream, you are doomed.’ So you have conspired to tell me lies, hoping I will change my mind. But tell me the dream, and then I’ll know that you can tell me what it means.” 10 The astrologers replied to the king, “No one on earth can tell the king his dream! And no king, however great and powerful, has ever asked such a thing of any magician, enchanter, or astrologer! 11 The king’s demand is impossible. No one except the gods can tell you your dream, and they do not live here among people.” 12 The king was furious when he heard this, and he ordered that all the wise men of Babylon be executed. 13 And because of the king’s decree, men were sent to find and kill Daniel and his friends.

What we see here is the introduction of the characters and the difficult situation.

Since the main characters have already been introduced there isn’t a lot information about them that needs to be communicated, but we see their names and we see the difficult situation they are put in.

Some of the greatest movies, especially action movies, we find the life of the hero in danger.

The King is disturbed by some dreams he has been having. So he calls in his usual power play - the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and astrologers.

He then commands them to not only interpret the dream but to tell him the dream as well.

He didn’t want to be tricked by the “spiritual guides” so to make sure they could accurately interpret the dream, he wanted them to tell him what the dream was about!

Their response was enlightening… in vs 10-11 we read

10 The astrologers replied to the king, “No one on earth can tell the king his dream! And no king, however great and powerful, has ever asked such a thing of any magician, enchanter, or astrologer! 11 The king’s demand is impossible. No one except the gods can tell you your dream, and they do not live here among people.”

Like every false god of their time, before and since, gods did not live in them midst of the people. They lived in their own realm, usually in the heavens or in the underworld.

Interestingly, the God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob, made his home amongst his people, that is the whole reason they built a tabernacle and later a temple, and after that, in Jesus himself..so God’s presence could be amongst his people.

Something we should know and remind ourselves daily is this…

Our situation or perception does not determine God’s presence, His presence is determined by HIS nature, not ours!

What we see is that the King wanted what the power people could not give him. In fact, no human could.

Because the King was not getting what he wanted, he made a proclamation, that all the wise men were to be killed, more than that…vs 5

But the king said to the astrologers, “I am serious about this. If you don’t tell me what my dream was and what it means, you will be torn limb from limb, and your houses will be turned into heaps of rubble!

Next couple vs in this passage, vs 14-16 tells us a lot about Daniel and about how we should respond to any situation in our story…

Daniel 2:14–16 “14 When Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard, came to kill them, Daniel handled the situation with wisdom and discretion. 15 He asked Arioch, “Why has the king issued such a harsh decree?” So Arioch told him all that had happened. 16 Daniel went at once to see the king and requested more time to tell the king what the dream meant.”

Daniel and his friends, as part of the wise men, were sentenced to death without even knowing why?

Some of the things we go through we know why, poor decision making on our part or another’s part, but many times we don’t know why.

Our not knowing why would not lead us to disappointment in God but to deeper dependance on God.

So we have the first and second act of the story, we meet the characters and find them in an impossible life threatening situation.

And Like all good stories, there is a happy ending.

Daniel 2:24–30

“24 Then Daniel went in to see Arioch, whom the king had ordered to execute the wise men of Babylon. Daniel said to him, “Don’t kill the wise men. Take me to the king, and I will tell him the meaning of his dream.” 25 Arioch quickly took Daniel to the king and said, “I have found one of the captives from Judah who will tell the king the meaning of his dream!” 26 The king said to Daniel (also known as Belteshazzar), “Is this true? Can you tell me what my dream was and what it means?” 27 Daniel replied, “There are no wise men, enchanters, magicians, or fortune-tellers who can reveal the king’s secret. 28 But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and he has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the future. Now I will tell you your dream and the visions you saw as you lay on your bed. 29 “While Your Majesty was sleeping, you dreamed about coming events. He who reveals secrets has shown you what is going to happen. 30 And it is not because I am wiser than anyone else that I know the secret of your dream, but because God wants you to understand what was in your heart.”

What we see in Daniel 2 from vs 31-45 is Daniel telling the King the dream and interpreting it’s meaning…

Daniel 2:46–49

“46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar threw himself down before Daniel and worshiped him, and he commanded his people to offer sacrifices and burn sweet incense before him. 47 The king said to Daniel, “Truly, your God is the greatest of gods, the Lord over kings, a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this secret.” 48 Then the king appointed Daniel to a high position and gave him many valuable gifts. He made Daniel ruler over the whole province of Babylon, as well as chief over all his wise men. 49 At Daniel’s request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to be in charge of all the affairs of the province of Babylon, while Daniel remained in the king’s court.”

So we have our great story…But like most great stories, there was a plot twist or a turning point that made everything work out. What was that in this story…It was Daniel 2:17–19

“17 Then Daniel went home and told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah what had happened. 18 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. 19 That night the secret was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven.”

What was Daniels first move?

It wasn’t panic, it wasn’t politics, it wasn’t persuasion, it was prayer!

Notice what Daniel does not do. He doesn't call an emergency committee meeting of Babylon's brightest minds. He doesn't pull an all-nighter cross-referencing dream interpretation manuals. He goes home, gathers three friends who share his faith, and they pray together.

Philippians 4:6

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.”

ESV gives a more literal translation and says it better…

do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Seek God for an answer, Don’t give him the answer!

Corrie ten Boom and her sister Betsie thanked God for the flea-infested barracks at the Ravensbrück concentration camp during World War II.The Discovery of the Infestation

Horrific conditions: When transferred to Barrack 28, the sisters found their straw bedding swarming with biting fleas.

Corrie's despair: Corrie complained that they could not possibly live or find any good in such a wretched, filthy place.

The Prayer of Gratitude

Scripture reminder: Betsie pointed to 1 Thessalonians 5:18 “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” , which commands believers to "give thanks in all circumstances".

Thanking God for the fleas: Though Corrie initially refused, Betsie persuaded her to pray and thank God even for the pesky insects.

The Hidden Protection

Unbothered gatherings: Months later, the sisters wondered why the brutal Nazi guards never entered their barracks to stop their illegal evening Bible studies and worship services.

The reason revealed: They discovered the guards refused to step inside the room because they wanted to avoid the heavy flea infestation, leaving the women free to pray, read scripture, and share hope.

Encourage Change

As we close our time together this morning, I want to give you time to pray.

Maybe your story is in the difficult time.

Maybe your way of life is in danger because of a financial situation

Maybe your way of life is in danger because of a relationship that is falling apart

Maybe your way of life or your very life is in danger because of a physical ailmanet.

Let’s pray together!