 Anyway, we're in chapter five, we're going to be looking at the chapter today, it's very famous chapter. As a matter of fact, it's a place where we have a saying that has been used for many years, it's the handwriting on the wall. And so we're going to be seeing chapter five and I chose to entitle this study simply the handwriting on the wall, and we'll be seeing that in just a moment as we go through this passage together. I'm going to read verses one through four, but let me share before I begin to do that, that I'm going to give you some information. Some of you are interested in history and you probably will benefit from hearing some of the things that I prepared to share with you. Those of you who are not interested in history, anyway, we'll begin. So we'll begin reading here at verse one, and I will give you some background history, just a bit of it, and then we'll move into our study. So Daniel chapter five, beginning at verse one, reading to verse four, While he tasted the wine, while Shazer gave the command to bring the gold and silver vessels, which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple, which had been in Jerusalem, that the king and his lords, his wives and his concubines, might drink from them. Then they brought the gold vessels that had been taken from the temple of the house of God, which had been in Jerusalem, and the king and his lords, his wives and his concubines drank from them. They drank wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone. And so here's some background in order for us to be able to get a good understanding of chapter five. The events of this chapter take place around 23 years after the close of chapter four. Now almost 70 years have transpired since Daniel originally had been taken captive and brought to Babylon, which was around 539 before Christ. And so as we look at this now, Daniel is an older man. He's somewhere between the ages of 85 and 90 years. Now we know that King Nebuchadnezzar died in 562 BC, and now a man by the name of Bal Shazer is in Babylon. So the question has to be asked, seeing that we're being introduced to a new character, who is Bal Shazer, and how is it that he came to reign over Babylon? And that's where historical scholarship comes to our aid. You see, the historians record that Nebuchadnezzar, the king, had died shortly after fortifying Babylon. His son, Evil Meridoc, ruled for two years, but he was assassinated by his brother-in-law, Narraglycer. Now Narraglycer, you want to know how to spell that? No, you don't. Okay, Narraglycer ruled for four years and he died. Now at his death, his son, Leboros Soracod, also known as Ben, began to rule. But because he was mentally diminished, he only ruled for nine months and ultimately was beaten to death. The conspirators then appointed Nabonidus to reign. And he reigned for 17 years before being defeated in battle by Cyrus the Persian and had been exiled from Babylon. Now, a little more information. Nabonidus married either the wife, historians differ on this, either the wife or the daughter of Nebuchadnezzar. And he assumed the throne in 556 BC and ruled until his defeat by Cyrus in 539 BC. Balchisar was his son and was ruling as what would be called a co-regent at this time because his father was exiled. And so you'll see why that makes some sense when we get to verse 7. You'll see that in a few minutes. And so many years before, Daniel had interpreted a dream for Nebuchadnezzar. And he had said, as he interpreted that dream, that an inferior kingdom would arise after Babylon. In Daniel 2 verse 39, Daniel had said, after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours. So in this chapter, this prophecy is fulfilled because we see the fall of Babylon. Now various portions of scripture prophesy about the fall of Babylon. I'll give you just two. I'm not going to read them, but Jeremiah chapter 50 verses 23 through 25, Jeremiah chapter 51 verses 54 through 58, speak of the fall of Babylon prophetically. Isaiah 13 verses 17 and 18 says, Behold, I will stir up the meads against them who will not regard silver. And as for gold, they will not delight in it. Also their bows will dash the young men to pieces. They will have no pity on the fruit of the womb. Their eye will not spare children. And so Isaiah had prophesied concerning the fall of Babylon along with Jeremiah. Now what we have here taking place is going to be the fulfillment of that prophecy. Belshazzar, as look at this, has made a great feast for a thousand of his chief men called his lords. He threw a party even though the meads and Persians were overrunning the country. Now the reason he was having this party is he had a false security because he believed that his fortress that he lived in was impregnable. When you look at history and history's account of Babylon, you'll find this interesting perhaps Babylon was six miles square. It had great outer walls of incredible thickness. The top of the wall was brought enough for four chariots to raise side by side. It also had a system of inner and outer walls with a water moat separating the walls. The Euphrates River flowed from north to south through its center and was bordered by walls. A bridge connected the eastern and western gates and there was a tunnel that led into the city. Now inside the city were provisions that could last for several years because they were aware that they were going to be sieged. During the ancient days they would lay siege to a city and sometimes it would last for years. They would just have an army encamped as they waded out the inhabitants of the city that they were laying siege to and then ultimately what would happen. You see it in biblical history, you'll see that the people begin to kill the animals to eat them and before you know it, they're either starving to death or they surrender. And so they were very famous during that day for just laying siege and just waiting. They would wait them out. But these people in Babylon weren't concerned because there had already been a series of campaigns and wars that were going on and so they had been for some time laying hold of stocks. They had been stocking up and so they were laying hold of food and everything in preparation so they're not concerned at all. They know that the fortress that they're in is impregnable. There's no way they're going to be able to break through those walls. And so they decide to party. That's what they're doing. And so what you see here even in the introduction is the king who is trusting in his fortress. He's trusting in the fortress that he's hiding in. He had thought that the preparation made for his security was going to keep him safe and that's obviously proved to be a very foolish thing to trust in. In the Psalms in Psalm 20 verse 7 it reads, Some trust in chariots and some in horses. But we trust in the name of the Lord our God. It is never wise to put your trust in man or the fortifications that you yourself have been part of building up. You have to trust in the Lord and this man doesn't know the Lord and therefore he doesn't trust in him. Now as this is taking place, he's most likely on a platform and he's drinking toast to the gods of Babylon. And under the stimulus of the wine he makes a very rash, rash decision. Any time you're under the influence of alcohol you are prone to make bad decisions. In the Proverbs 23 verses 31 through 33 it says it like this. It says, Do not gaze at the wine when it's red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly. In the end it bites like a snake, poisons like a viper. Your eyes will see strange sights and your mind will imagine confusing things. And so some of you are nodding your head, you know what he's talking about. And so he's having a party. He's got a thousand of the lords and wives. So there's quite a large group of people as they're just partying in the midst of all of the tension that's taking place. And so in verses 2 it says, in verse 2 following it says, While he tasted the wine, Balshazzar gave the command to bring the gold and silver vessels, which his father, speaking of his grandfather, by the way, and I'll share a couple thoughts about that in a moment, which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple which had been in Jerusalem that the king and his lords, his wives and his concubines might drink from them. Then they brought the gold vessels that had been taken from the temple of the house of God which had been in Jerusalem and the king and his lords, his wives and his concubines drank from them. They drank wine, praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone. And so when you look in 2 Kings you see that Nebuchadnezzar actually, Babylon actually had three incursions against the nation of Israel. In the third incursion they pillaged the temple. And in 2 Kings 24 verse 13 it says, As the Lord had declared, Nebuchadnezzar removed the treasures from the temple of the Lord and from the royal palace and cut up the gold articles that Solomon, king of Israel, had made for the temple of the Lord. So they pillaged the temple and they took out the utensils and things that had been dedicated to the service of the Lord. And we saw as we'd gone through the first few chapters of Daniel that Nebuchadnezzar had grown to respect the God of Israel. And so the utensils that were pillaged were held in storage. Well, Belshazzar, his grandson, doesn't regard Israel's God. So what he decides to do is he decides to desecrate the holy vessels that had been set apart for the service of God. It says in verse 4 that they drank wine, praised the gods of gold, silver, bronze, and iron, and all of these descending in value articles, wood and stone. And so what he's doing is he's praising his gods. And when you look at this, and you might find this interesting, notice that the value of the materials that are being referred to, the gold, the silver, bronze, iron, wood, stone, they're in descending value. Which means it's simply another way of saying that he praised the gods that were the highest in his pantheon of deities, all the way down to the things that really didn't matter that much would be the stone and all of that. But he's praising these gods. He's an idolater. And so while drunk, he committed an act of sacrilege because he drank from the sacred vessels. Now, when he does this, verse 5, in the same hour, the fingers of a man's hand appeared and wrote opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace, and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. The king's countenance changed. His thoughts troubled him so that the joints of his hips were loosened and his knees knocked against each other. The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, the Seussayers. The king spoke saying to the wise men of Babylon, whoever reads this writing and tells me its interpretation shall be clothed the purple and have a chain of gold around his neck, and he shall be the third ruler in the kingdom. Now, all the king's wise men came, but they couldn't read the writing or make known to the king its interpretation. Then king Balsh's hour was greatly troubled. His countenance was changed and his lords were astonished. Well, I would be too. If I was sitting the booze in and up with some good wine, and then I see this just a hand tag in my wall, I'd be wondering about that myself. Now, do you know this is interesting? Again, archaeologists have discovered Nebuchadnezzar's palace. It's 56 feet wide, 173 feet long. Midway in the long wall opposite the entrance was a hollowed out portion where the king would have sat. And that wall was covered with white plaster. And so that hall would have been illuminated with candles and torches or lamps. And it would have been dimly lit. There would have been smoke, some haze in the room. And so the finger wrote next to a lamp stand so that it was visible for everyone to see. And when this happened, he sees this part of the hand that was writing. It says in verse six that king's countenance changed. It literally says he lost all the blood in his face. He grew pale. His thoughts troubled him. He was anxious, obviously. The joints of his hips were loosened. He could hardly stand. And his knees knocked against each other. And so he had kind of an interesting response to that. You see, his drunken courage is now gone. Sometimes when people are drinking, they get real courageous. I've seen men who are 5'6", 130 pounds suddenly gain a foot and two gain 100 pounds. They just become brave because the alcohol helps them to feel that they are. But this man was there praising his idols and the Lord broke in. And when the Lord broke in through this writing on the wall, all of his bravado is gone. His drunken courage is no longer with him. He sobers up. And so what he has to do while verse seven says, he cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, Caldean, soothsayers. He called the religious leaders. And as he brought them in, he's needing help from them. And so it says in verse seven, the king spoke saying to the wise men of Babylon, whoever reads this writing and tells me its interpretation shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around his neck. And he'll be the third ruler of the kingdom. See, his father was the first ruler who is in exile. He's what is called the second ruler. He's the co-regent. So he's promising a third position which would be one of high honor. He speaks of scarlet clothing and the chain of gold. These would be special tokens of honor and authority. So he's terrified. But notice his lords that he has, these chieftains and all their perplexed. They have no answer. And nobody has them. The soothsayers, Caldeans, the rest, nobody can answer what's going on. And so in verse eight, all the king's wise men came, but they couldn't read the writing or make known to the king its interpretation. There was no way that they could explain what was taking place. And so verse nine, King Balchazer was greatly troubled. His countenance was changed. His lords were astonished. They were perplexed. They were questioning what's going on here. And naturally, you should do that. Well, as this is taking place, verse 10, the queen, because of the words of the king and his lords, came to the banquet hall. The queen spoke saying, Oh, King, live forever. Do not let your thoughts trouble you nor let your countenance change. Well, who is this woman who is speaking to him in this way? Some believe that it is what would be called the queen mother and meaning it's his mama. So mama comes in and says, son, grow up, shut up, because that's what she's saying here. First, she speaks with respect. Oh, King, live forever. But then she gives mama's advice. Do not let your thoughts trouble you, nor let your countenance change. Son, be a man is what she's saying. Be a man. And so as she's speaking to him, she's saying, get it together. And then gives her advice. Verse 11, there's a man in your kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy God. And in the days of your father, speaking of his grandfather, light and understanding and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods were found in him. And King Nebuchadnezzar, your father, your father, the king, made him chief of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans and soothsayers. In as much as an excellent spirit, knowledge, understanding, interpreting dreams, solving riddles, explaining enigmas were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Beltiches are. Now let Daniel be called and he'll give the interpretation. So she gives to him her queenly advice. Now it's interesting how she actually uses the words of Nebuchadnezzar, the words that Nebuchadnezzar had used to describe Daniel in chapter 4. So when she says your father, there is no word for grandfather, so they will speak of your father in that way. It speaks of an ancestor, but he's speaking, she's speaking really of his grandfather. And she's saying Nebuchadnezzar trusted him and gave him a very high position in the kingdom. Notice in verse 11 how she speaks of the span and says, as Daniel, there's a man in your kingdom in whom the spirit of the holy God is. And in the days of your father, light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods were found in him. King Nebuchadnezzar, your father, your father, the king, made him chief of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans and soothsayers. So she recognizes that he had special enlightenment. And so what she's basically saying is this, she's saying seek help from this godly man. And we can speak about that for just a moment because that's a key. If you want proper direction when you're having a problem, it's always wise to seek help from those who are godly. You never want to seek out the ungodly for life changing decisions that have spiritual or spiritual import. I'm not saying that you should never listen to a non-believing doctor or whatever. No, that's not the point I'm making. What I'm saying is when you're making life choices, it's always wise to seek out someone, especially as a believer, to seek out someone who has a relationship with the Lord, who can direct you through experience but especially by the Holy Spirit and his word, God's word, can direct you to the answer that is found within the confines of Scripture. When you read the Psalms in Psalm 1, remember verses 1 through 3 how it says, Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful, but his delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither and whatever he does shall prosper. It's always wise to seek out advice and direction to be of help to you from those who are godly. I can't tell you over the years how I've heard stories that have caused me to have sorrow for those who took advice from those who didn't have their best interests in heart or really didn't have a spiritual sense of what is right or what is wrong. I remember a young lady many years ago now, so I'll use this as an illustration, a young lady that we knew fairly well who was in our fellowship. She actually had grown up from being a little girl to becoming a young woman, and this is many years ago now, over 20 years, so I can say it. And, you know, she was having her time of rebellion and she didn't like what mom and dad were teaching her and all. And she started dating and when she was dating she wasn't real selective with who she was going out with. And she finally got hooked up with a guy, a guy who was not after her best interests. He was only after, you know, after her for a sexual reason. That's what he was after her for. And instead of going to mom and dad and saying, you know, I'm going through tough times, mama, dad, can you help me? I'm being tempted she didn't do that. What she did is she went to one of her girlfriends and she spoke to one of her girlfriends who had yielded herself up to a boyfriend and she asked advice from this girl. And the girlfriend of her said, look, I've been sleeping with my boyfriend. I'm no different now than I was before. Go ahead. And the young lady decided that she would do just that. And you reap consequences every time you do something like that. She listened to the advice of an ungodly person and it always hurts because what you give up, you don't get back. There was a young woman who was being pressured to have sexual relationships and her best friend was saying to her, go ahead, it won't hurt you. And you know, it was a big deal and the young virgin said to this other young lady, she said, you know, anytime I want, I can become like you, but you can never ever again become like me. So you have to have wisdom when you listen to people for advice. You have to take the advice from those who have your best interest, especially those who love the Lord, especially those who know God's word. And so he's asking for advice from those who don't know God, but they can't give him what he needs. And so the queen mother says, there's a man in the kingdom that your grandfather, Nebuchadnezzar, had valued greatly, honored greatly. He's someone who knows how to do these things, interpret these things. The spirit of the Holy God is in him. You need to speak to him and ask him and he can give you direction. His name is Daniel. Though he's been called Balteshezar. Well, in verse 13, Daniel was brought in before the king. The king spoke and said to Daniel, are you that Daniel, who is one of the captives from Judah, whom my father, the king, brought from Judah? I've heard of you, that the spirit of God is in you and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you. Now, the wise men, the astrologers, have been brought in before me that they should read this writing and make known to me its interpretation, but they could not give the interpretation of the thing. And I've heard of you, that you can give interpretations and explain enigma. So word enigma speaks of mysteries. Now, if you can read the writing and make known to me its interpretation, you shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around your neck and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom. And so he makes the same promise to him that he had made to his own advisors. Under Nebuchadnezzar, and we've been reading this, remember Daniel became a man of high authority. He'd been ruler over the whole province of Babylon. He was the chief of the wise men. And he obviously had been demoted or removed when Belshazzar took over. Now, Belshazzar, as we read this, obviously knew some of the history. He knew that Daniel was Jewish. He knew that he was a captive. So when the times got tough, he was willing to hear from this Jewish man. Notice how he says in verse 14 and 15, I've heard that the Spirit of God's in you. You have light and understanding. In other words, up to this point, I've ignored your existence. But now I'm ready to listen. You see, before you weren't worth my time. My religion was fine with me, but it's left me without an answer. I haven't been in need before, but now I am. Can you help me? I think a lot of people understand that kind of sentiment because maybe you were raised in a religious environment. I was raised in a somewhat religious environment, and my dad wasn't a religious man by any means. My mother was. And so I was raised in that environment, and I had a history of strong religious relatives. One of my uncles was, I think it was, it's called either a bishop or an arch deacon in the Catholic Church. And he was from Jalisco. And when my aunt, my aunt was born, my grandparents actually took my aunt to Jalisco to my uncle, my great uncle, who was a very religious man. He was high up in the Catholic Church in Mexico and all of that. So I came from a religious background. When I was born, my mom took me to a small church in Los Angeles, the Plaza Church there by Alvera Street. A lot of people have been baptized there. If I asked how many of you were, every Mexican in California was baptized at that place. That's where I was baptized. You know, mama took me there when I was four months old. And I have my baptismal certificate at home that she had gotten when I was just a baby, you know. And so mama was religious, but at a certain point in her life, her religion didn't satisfy her questions. And at a certain point in her life, it just fell short of meeting her needs. And that's what happens sometimes when you're holding on to the wrong kind of faith. In this particular case, this man here did not regard the God of Daniel, the way his grandfather had. And we already saw what his grandfather had said concerning, what Nebuchadnezzar had said concerning the God of Israel. There is no God like this God. And so Nebuchadnezzar, we saw last time together what many scholars believe was his conversion to faith in the God of Israel. But his grandson did not have that same kind of faith. And so he's ignored Daniel up to this point. More than likely he was demoted under this man because he regarded his own gods. The gods that he worshipped and praised when he was drunk. So he's basically saying, I have never needed you before, but now I do. Can you be of help to me? Notice he said in verse 16, I've heard that you can give interpretations and explain enigmas, explain mysteries. And listen, if you can, I'll make you very influential. If you can, I'm going to make you very powerful. I can make you a very rich man. If you can help me. Well, verse 17, Daniel answered and said before the king, let your gifts be for yourself and give your rewards to another. Yet I will read the writing to the king and make known to him the interpretation. And what he's about to do, by the way, is he's going to give the king a sermon. He more than likely is upset over the desecration of the vessels from the temple. And zeal for the Lord and God's righteousness is going to provide fuel for his message. Daniel isn't a prophet for hire. So any gifts that the king offers are not desired. And he's saying this, you can keep your gifts because my interpretation cannot be bought. They're not for sale. Don't we need more of that today? Don't we need more of that today? I can't be bought. I don't need a position in your government. I don't need to be regarded by you. You see, I have a king that's greater than any earthly king. The king he's saying that I worship is the king of the universe and what you are is an earthly king about to be dethroned. So why would I want to sell my ministry for profit? We have to be very aware of that because sometimes within religion and religious practitioners, there can be a hunger for position and power that clouds them in terms of their holy calling. And so he says, you can keep the money. I don't want it because the zeal for the Lord is what's going to be fueling my message. In 1 Thessalonians in the New Testament, Paul says it well in verse 4 of chapter 2, 1 Thessalonians 2-4 when he says, But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, the God who tests our hearts. We don't say things to tickle the ears of the listener. A minister worth their salt, a Bible teacher worth the calling, has one fear and the fear is not of man. The fear is of the Lord. And when you have a zeal for God and a fear of the Lord, you cannot help but speak the things that God puts on your heart, regardless of how you may be feeling at that moment. You know, when Jeremiah was called, God was speaking Jeremiah, Jeremiah is just a youth. He's just a young man. And when the Lord calls him, the Lord says to him, that he's not to be afraid of their faces. And what that means is, it's not that it's a group of ugly people. It means they're not going to like what you're saying. They're not going to like how you say it. I can tell you, I can tell you as a person who's spoken for a long time in front of people, that there are times when you're speaking and you can see the people's faces are not happy. They don't like what they're hearing. So instead of shutting my mouth, I just look to somebody who smiles. I just keep talking. Because I have been entrusted and approved by God. And that's what Daniel is. That's what Daniel is. And so he speaks in verse 18, O King, the Most High God, gave Nebuchadnezzar your father a kingdom and majesty, glory and honor. And because of the majesty that he gave him, all peoples, nations and languages trembled and feared before him. Whomever he wished, he executed. Whomever he wished, he kept alive. Whomever he wished, he set up. And whomever he wished, he put down. So he says that the God of heaven is the one who has given the nation its glory. In Daniel 4.17, we read the most high rules in the kingdom of men, and it gives it to whomever he will and sets over it the lowest of men. And so God is the God of heaven. You have nothing to do with the excellence and glory of Babylon. You need to know first and foremost something that your grandfather was taught by God, and that is that God puts whomever he wants into position of authority. So for you to be offering me a position of authority is useless, because it's the Lord who puts people in that position. And so when government is attempting to come between you and your faith in God, you always choose God. You choose God and you honor him. And so he's beginning to give him a message. One is God is the one who puts a person in a position of authority. So your promise to give me that authority really isn't something I'm concerned with. And then in verse 20, he goes on to say when his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne. And they took his glory from him. Then he was driven from the sons of men. His heart was made like the beasts. His dwelling was with the wild donkeys. They fed him with grass like oxen. His body was wet with the dew of heaven till he knew that the most high God rules in the kingdom of men and appoints over it whomever he chooses. And he's giving him a message. And he points out that Nebuchadnezzar had absolute power. But he also was accountable to God. And when his heart was lifted up by pride, God brought him low. Proverbs 29-23 says a man's pride will bring him low, but the humble in spirit will retain honor. So he's saying, God is greater than any earthly king. This is something that Nebuchadnezzar knew. But he goes on in verse 22, but you, his son, Palshazar, have not humbled your heart, although you knew all this. And you have lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. They have brought the vessels of his house before you, and you and your lords, your wives, your concubines have drunk wine from them. And you've praised the gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which do not see or hear or know. And the God who holds your breath in his hand and owns all your ways, you have not glorified. You know, there's an interesting psalm that speaks concerning the man who fashions the idol. Eyes they have, but they do not see. Ears they have, but they cannot hear. Mouths they have, but they cannot utter words. Hands they have, but they cannot reach. Legs they have and feet, but they cannot walk. And in other words, they are useless. They cannot help you. So that's why we stay away from those things that are useless. My Marie, when she was a young lady, being very devoted in her Catholic upbringing, her patron saint, the one that she looked to, was Joseph. And a lot of people understand what I just said in Catholic Church, you have patron saints. Mine was St. Anthony. St. Anthony, please come around, for there is something that cannot be found. I used to say that prayer, my mom taught me that because she said, whenever you lose anything, you talk to Anthony and he'll help you find it. So I was taught that way. When I was a doper, I prayed that every day. Because I couldn't find my keys. I couldn't find my way home. I mean, I prayed that a lot. And as a Jew, there's something that can't be found. I can't find my mind. Well, my girl was, you know, she was raised in that way and so she liked Joseph. And she used to have a little statue, you know, that she had taken to the priest and he had blessed it. And she put it on her dashboard, on her car. And facing traffic to help her drive. And his hands were over his eyes. And what had happened is the sun melted him. And so he was kind of twekle. He was just bent over, twisted. I'll never forget that, you know, her little Joseph, you know. And then, you know, she gave her heart to the Lord and when she got saved, I was doing what a lot of boyfriends do. I was going through her wallet while she was in the other room. And I really was. And I found a picture and she came walking in and I said, Marie, I thought I was your boyfriend. She goes, you are. And I said, no, I'm not. I'm not your boyfriend. Yes, you are. What are you talking about? Yes, you are. No, I'm not. Why do you say that? I said, because I found out you're dating Joe. And she said, Joe. And she had a little card, a prayer to St. Joseph in her wallet. And I pulled it out and I said, you're going out on me, huh? With Joe Joe. And she says, oh, and she used to have a little brown scapular. She had all of those things that a lot of us who were raised in certain ways that we carried. And all of that. But once again, what you discover is that there's only one king of heaven. There's only one who answers your prayers. There's only one who strengthens you. And that's God. And that's something that Bal Shazzar had never learned. But that's something that Nebuchadnezzar had learned. And so he had learned the lesson. And the lesson of who God is had completely changed his life. It says again in Daniel 4, verse 35, all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing. He does according to his will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain his hand or say to him, what have you done? Now, Bal Shazzar, you knew all of this. And yet here you are drinking and acting arrogantly. You knew that your grandfather had been humbled. But you refused to be. It says in verse 23, it says, you have lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. And they brought the vessels of his house before you. You and your lords, your wives, concubines, you drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver and gold, bronze, iron, wood and stone, which don't see. They don't hear. They don't know. God who holds your breath in his hand, it owns all your ways. You have not glorified. You have made a God and you're like that God. Can't see, can't hear, can't feel, can't walk. You have praised your idols, but you've rejected the God of the universe in your pride. You don't understand that God holds your breath in his hand. And it's this God who owns all your ways. This is the God you have not glorified. Now, we've already seen that Daniel didn't mince words when he spoke to Bal Shazzar. Well, one other thing to consider. He most likely was saying this before all of the guests. He wasn't just speaking in private. There were a thousand lords and wives. There were concubines. There was a large group of people. And Daniel didn't hold back. Even though there were many listening to what was being said as he is speaking to the king. And what he was doing was taking his very life into his own hands, knowing that he could die for what he was saying. Isaiah 50 verse 7 reads, The Lord God helps me. Therefore I'm not disgraced. Therefore I have set my face like flint. And I know that I will not be ashamed. I'm not afraid. I'm not ashamed. I'll speak the truth. Doesn't matter how many people are there who don't agree with it. This is the truth. Listen, if you grab hold of that one thing I just shared with you, God's going to use you mightily. If you hold fast to that and know that, and I mean this sincerely, God will use you. You know, people see me now at my age and they say, oh, you've known the Lord for a long time. What you need to know is, maybe I should say some wouldn't know this is that I got saved at 20. I'd never read the Bible in my life. I began to read and study the Bible after being saved. I began teaching Bible studies at 23, but that doesn't make you a Bible scholar. That simply makes you someone learning. But at 23, I went to Biola College, Christian College. But at 24, I went to secular schools, non-Christian colleges. I didn't know very much. All I knew was I was blind. Now I see. I was deaf. Now I hear. I was crippled. Now I walk. I was a doper. Now I'm free. I'm drunk. Now I've got the Holy Spirit. That's basically what I knew. But I had made a determination. I'm encouraging you to do the same. Here are my Lord. Use me. You know, I don't know much, but I know you. That was really the truth. And I've been that way for many years. And so from an early age in Christ, I just made a determination. And I'm going to follow Him the best that I can. And I want to be used by God. I want Him to use me. I don't want to be a pew potato, you know, just sitting in the pew, getting in Bible study, and then going home and doing something else. No, I want to be used by God. Because what is greater? What is greater than being used by the Lord to reach somebody's life? To change. To see the miracle of transformation. To see somebody who was a drunk suddenly, because God moves, gets sober in such a way that they themselves also begin to share the gospel with other people. To see people who at one time were promiscuous, who become the lover of one person, a great wife, a great husband, because God changed them and made them brand new. And now they live for Christ. Become a great mom, great dad. I've seen a lot of that. I've seen so many transformations. People say, have you ever seen a miracle? Yes, every time someone gets saved. That's a miracle of the Lord Jesus Christ. It changed lives. And that matters. That really matters. Don't be cruel and mean and argumentative and pushy and belligerent. It's not good. Be loving, compassionate, honest and courageous and tell the truth. Tell the truth. And you don't always get rewarded for doing that. I've been mocked more than once. And you say, yeah, that's when you're like, yeah, it's just last year. I was preaching in church here in my own fellowship. And I made a statement and I said this. Let's see if this happens again. I was talking about the Kavanaugh confirmation and I was trying to make a simple point. When accusations are made, they're not always true. You have to investigate. I was speaking about being fair, be fair. Christians are supposed to be fair. We judge righteous judgment, don't we? We're not told to make a discernment or make a judgment. We judge righteously. That means that we look for what the truth is and embrace that. That's what I was saying. But I had written in my notes and I was reading my notes and I said what my note said was women lie, men lie, children lie, people lie. That was my line of notes. When I said women lie, some man sitting up in front to the left yelled out you lie and that startled me. You lie. I looked down there and I said John, that's not nice. I'll buy you a burrito, all right? No, he yelled that out. So people don't always listen to you or respect you or think that you're telling the truth. Sometimes even your own church will stand up and I call your name and I call your name, but guess what? I don't care because I want to tell the truth before the Lord because that's what sets people free. And if somebody says something to you that hurts your feelings, guess what? What went to you when all men speak good concerning you? Because so they spoke concerning the false prophets. When you begin to make a difference, there will be opposition. Always be aware of that. That's just the truth. Anytime you want the light to shine, someone's going to throw shade. That's how it works. They're going to want to quiet you. But Daniel wasn't the one that you could quiet. And so he said, nope, God's going to help me. And so all you need to know is know the Lord. Believe his word. Act upon it. You have an opportunity to share. You can share in your home. You can share in your neighborhood, in a school. You can share before mockers. But share. Well, as this is taking place, verse 24, the fingers of the hand were sent from him and this writing was written. This is the inscription that was written. Many, many tecalupartsin. This is the interpretation of each word. Many, God has numbered your kingdom and finished it. Tecal, you have been weighed in the balances found wanting. Harris, your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians. Balchazzar gave the command they clothe Daniel with purple put a chain of gold around his neck, made the proclamation concerning him that he should be third ruler in the kingdom. Balchazzar king of the Chaldeans was slain. Darius the Mede received the kingdom being about 62 years old. And so many, many tecalupartsin. Your kingdom has been weighed in the balance and found wanting. Well, he gives him that interpretation. That's what you asked and this is what's going to take place. So what happens is Balchazzar verse 29 Well, he fulfilled his promise and they clothe Daniel with purple and put a chain of gold around his neck and I put a note to myself, disco Daniel and gave him a corvette. All of those honors didn't last. You see, Daniel didn't desire nor seek the honor that came from the king. His desire was to be honorable before the lord and to serve him faithfully. You see, in the New Testament that's what believers are encouraged to. In 1 Corinthians 9 24 through 27, Paul said it like this Do you not know that in a race all the runners run? But only one receives a prize. So run, that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath but we, an imperishable. So I don't run aimlessly. I don't box as one beating the air but I discipline my body and keep it under control. Last after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified. You have to have a vision to do one thing and that is to glorify the lord. And so this happened overnight. I mean it was what was given to him was immediately taken. So what good is the honor of the world anyway? Because that very night Balshazzar king of the Caldians was slain and the city was taken. What happened? Well the invading army had stationed military at two ends of the walls and there was a river that ran through the city and what they did is they blocked the river. They damned it. And the water that had at one time been flowing freely and they couldn't have really crossed through and the water was damned and the water began to recede until it was waist high and when the water got to waist high the invading military came straight through that tunnel and took this impregnable citadel. They took it. And so in one night the city fell and Balshazzar died. And all of these promises that he was making and all of this that he said would be for Daniel ended in one night. That's what happens when you pursue, if you were to pursue the glory of this world it ends quickly. But if you pursue the glory that comes from God alone that's eternal glory. That's a weight of glory. It's an everlasting glory. So all we need to do as believers is make sure that we know who we worship and to worship with all of our heart. Father we ask that even as we've looked at this the story, this historical story Lord we would ask that that we would have hearts like Daniel. That we would be not afraid of speaking the truth not only to those in power but in front of those who would uphold that power. I ask that we the church would speak may we speak the truth in love Lord and it's really time for the church to awaken out of its slumber anyway for Lord we have been in some ways it seems like we've been asleep at the wheel and Lord it's time for us to wake up. May we remember who is the king of the universe. May we remember Jesus who puts people in power but in the midst of all that we know about that may we make decisions Lord that line up with what your word teaches. May we have the courage and the willingness to speak that we saw in Daniel and Lord I ask that you would bless our lives even as you bless that great man. And so Lord we lift up to you right now our entire ministries our entire lives ask Lord that you would use us and may we have courage to speak the truth when given opportunity and even as our eyes are closed and our heads are bowed perhaps there are some in this room right now the only spirit is speaking to and you need to get right with the Lord you may be watching online you may be in our overflow right now I can't see you online obviously in the overflow but I can see any in this room and if you need to be right with the Lord speaking to you right now I want to pray for you and as our eyes are closed our heads are bowed if you need to get right with God right now would you raise your hand let me pray for you right where you're at Father you see these hands you know the reason why they're being raised to you in Jesus name I ask that you would reach down and touch each person whose hand is raised and Father that you would make yourself known in such a special and beautiful way that from this point on their lives will be forever changed I ask that as they confess and say God be of my be helped to me forgive me that you would fill them with your presence the Holy Spirit work within them from this point on in a new and fresh way and Lord I just ask that you would have your way in them that you would use them and by faith that we receive from you Lord and we trust you thank you Lord you can put your hands down in Jesus I ask that you keep moving in all of us and I ask these things in your name Amen