Sermon Tone Analysis

Unbreakable When Your World Is Shaken Up

Thriving No Matter What They Throw at You

We’re going to start this journey with just three simple suggestions today.

We’ll get into the actual life of Daniel next week.

This sets up the theme for the entire series.

First suggestion when your life is thrown into chaos, when your world is shaken up.

Introduction to Daniel’s life and book

What to Do When Life Is Chaotic...

That’s the first thing we’re going to learn from this young man Daniel.

Don’t be surprised by adversity.

Although the collapse of the nation of Israel was a shock – it shocked everybody – it wasn’t unexpected.

Because the prophets Jeremiah and Zephaniah and others had been saying, “We’re going to lose our freedom.

We’re going to lose our freedom.

We’re going to lose our freedom if we don’t wise up and stop all this idolatry and other stuff.”

As a teenager, Daniel had been hearing this.

He heard these preachers.

He could hear them in the streets saying, “Guys we’re being warned.

We’re going to lose our freedom if we don’t do this.”

1. Don’t be surprised by adversity.

Peter is telling us that shake ups are a normal part of life in a broken world.

We do not live in Heaven.

In Heaven everything’s perfect.

Everything’s done great.

There are no tears, no sorrow, no suffering.

But on earth everything is broken because of sin.

Every relationship is broken, everybody is broken, we don’t have healthy minds.

The weather is broken; the economy is broken.

So we shouldn’t expect things to be perfect here on earth.

When something bad happens in your life instead of going, Why me?

You might want to say ,“Why not me?

I live here on earth.”

This is not Heaven.

That’s coming later.

There are going to be sufferings.

There are going to be trials.

Don’t be surprised by it.

Jesus warned us that adversity was going to be a part of life.

Don’t let it blow you away.

Don’t be surprised.

Don’t be shocked.

But you need to be unshakeable.

I’m telling you so you won’t cave in.

You know what the typical response is when you go through a crisis?

The typical human response when I or you go through a crisis is this: The first thing we do is try to figure out who’s to blame.

That’s the last thing you need to work on.

Whose fault is it?

As long as you’re fixing the blame you can’t fix the problem.

To blame is to be lame.

That’s how you spell blame.

So when you blame other people you’re just perpetuating the problem.

You’re not solving anything.

Politicians love to blame each other.

These groups and that group blame each other.

Blame is lame.

Instead of asking whose fault it is, you need to be asking what should I do?

There are four sources for every problem in your life:

Number one is you.

I am the biggest problem to myself.

I cause myself more pain, more heartache from my dumb decisions.

Four sources for every problem in my life...

My old nature

When I get to Heaven all my weaknesses, all those flaws, they’re going to be taken away.

So I’m going to be the new improved me.

By the way, if you don’t like me right now you’re going to love me in Heaven.

I’ll have no imperfections.

I won’t irritate you in any way.

Of course you won’t irritate me either.

Because all your hang ups will be taken away too.

The world

The world is around you and wants to pull you down.

The primary way the world tries to pull you down is through ridicule and through withholding approval.

We are desperate for the approval of other people.

So we will lower our standards and change our convictions and give in and give up simply because we want somebody to like us.

Satan

The devil is real.

Evil incarnate.

The moment you wake up in the morning he’s plotting to discourage you, to defeat you, to create doubts, depression, discouragement, distractions.

All these different things.

When you get up in the morning if you don’t meet the devil head on it just means you’re headed the same direction, because he’s been planning to take you down.

He hates you.

God has a good plan for your life; he’s got a bad plan for your life.

God

Some of the problems and pressures and difficulties you have in life actually come from God. God will sometimes shake up your life for very good reasons.

And that’s why I want to cover this in detail because this is the one that is unexpected.

And I want you to look at that.

It really doesn’t matter where your problems came from.

They could be caused by the devil, they could be caused by the world, they could be caused by you or they could be brought on in your life by God.

It doesn’t really matter.

God will use every one of them for your good if you will trust him.

He can turn crucifixions into resurrections.

He can bring good out of bad.

Anybody can bring good out of good but God can change even bad things into good if you will trust him.

So regardless of the source of your shaking, what’s got you all shaken up… I lost my job, I can’t get married, I want this and it hasn’t happened, I have this dream and I’ve hit a barrier – regardless of whatever’s shaking you up God wants to use it for good.

So the source isn’t nearly as important as your response.

2. Consider how God might use it for good.

I look for ways that God might use the bad stuff in my life for good.

Because he wants to use everything--even the bad things in your life he wants to bring good out of even those.

And if you want to succeed and thrive rather than just survive in a hostile culture you need to look for ways that God takes the things that shake you up and can use them for good

I’m going to give you a sneak peek at where we’re going in the coming weeks.

Because in Daniel’s life God did five things with the problems that he had to face.