Defining Moments Reveal Your Core Values

Daniel 1:6-9 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
6 Now among them from the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. 7 Then the commander of the officials assigned new names to them; and to Daniel he assigned the name Belteshazzar, to Hananiah Shadrach, to Mishael Meshach and to Azariah Abed-nego. 8 But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king’s choice food or with the wine which he drank; so he sought permission from the commander of the officials that he might not defile himself. 9 Now God granted Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the commander of the officials…
Daniel 1:12 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
12 “Please test your servants for ten days, and let us be given some vegetables to eat and water to drink.

Daniel 1:14 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
14 So he listened to them in this matter and tested them for ten days.

Daniel 1:18-20 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
18 Then at the end of the days which the king had specified for presenting them, the commander of the officials presented them before Nebuchadnezzar. 19 The king talked with them, and out of them all not one was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king’s personal service. 20 As for every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king consulted them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and conjurers who were in all his realm.

1. On the other side of pressure, there is promotion.
2. Defining moments create spiritual momentum.
3. The moments that seem hell-bent on destroying you are the moments God uses to distinguish you.

THINK ABOUT IT:
● What do you do when your dreams, and your lifestyle are disrupted so much that you feel like a captive ?
● Governmental circumstances surround me out of my control --- and do I feel captive by it?
● How do I respond? There are so many little moments to navigate - you don’t always know what later becomes a defining moment…
● It’s often as we look back, we see God at work in our lives just like Jesus!
UNDERWATER TIRE ---EXAMPLE - UNDER PRESSURE
● PRESSURE --- Tests underwater reveal the holes in a tube as air pockets flow through - it is how it’s tested…
● PRESSURE reveals you and your core values!
● There was no situational ethics here. Daniel had his core values in tact!
THEY CALL ME NAMES
● How would you respond when people call you names -- they don’t see you --
● they don’t acknowledge you -- and they put stuff on you that isn’t true ---
● How do you handle that?
What Daniel Did:
● Danel and his friends could have:
○ Balked
○ Raised a social media stink about it
○ Got in the face of the immediate commander
○ Told him off and Daniel would have gotten his head chopped off and our story would end there
HOW YOU CHALLENGE IS AS IMPORTANT AS WHEN YOU CHALLENGE!

Questions to Ponder:
● Was Daniel in survival mode?
● Was he compromising to save his life?
● Or was he using wisdom to pick the right battles?