The Lightweight - Daniel 5:13-31

this is a message from the ministry of calvary chapel santa barbara for more information about our church please visit calvary sb calm good morning everybody welcome you know we saw God do such wonderful things last Sunday and the big event the big event is something that we've seen God use in mighty waves throughout the history of our church I mean you think about it just the privilege of being able to do that service at the sunken gardens for 20 years and you think about all that God has done collectively through 20 years of that big event there and we praise the Lord for it but I just want you to remember something sometimes we think God can only move in the big event and we kind of forget about what God can do week to week Sunday to Sunday then there's other folks I've met other folks they kind of only think that God can move in the week to week to Sunday to Sunday and they kind of don't think about what God can do in the big event I love our congregation because I really think we embrace the power of both God moves both in the big event and in the week to week so I was so excited last Sunday what an amazing time I'm pretty excited about this morning God's given us a great thing to gather together with to worship Him to give Him praise and now to spend some time in his word so father in heaven this is our prayer with tremendous gratitude we thank you for all you did last Sunday but Lord with real faith and anticipation we gather together here on a Sunday morning and we say Lord would you please speak to us would you please come wash our feet we need to receive from you a gracious God and Lord we want to return to you our attention our worship our honor thank you Lord speak to us through your word right now we pray in Jesus name amen and with that I'd like you to open your Bibles to the Book of Daniel chapter five this morning we're going to begin at verse 13 but I need to set the stage and remind you of where we were last time in the Book of Daniel for the first half of Daniel chapter 5 in the beginning of Daniel chapter 5 there's a transition from the previous king of Babylon throughout the first four chapters of Daniel whose name was Nebuchadnezzar and Nebuchadnezzar was a great ruler a man of amazing character and even in his days when he was a pagan because he came to a faith in the true and living God but even in days when he was a pagan there was something worthy and Noble about his character and about his person well God did a lot in the life of the king of Babylon named Nebuchadnezzar but when chapter 5 comes up we're dealing with a different King it's not immediately the next king after Nebuchadnezzar he was in that royal succession but there were some assassinations and some moving behind the scenes between Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar but when we come to Daniel chapter 5 we have a new king we also have an entirely new political situation because in the days of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon Babylon was secure they were the world empire that ruled everywhere but by the time we come to Daniel chapter 5 and Belshazzar is throwing a tremendous party he's holding the party while an army of Persians and Medes surrounds the city of Babylon doing their very best to invade the city and conquer the Empire and what do you do when you've got a mighty army surrounding your city and trying to get in well you throw the best party ever well at least that's what Belshazzar did I don't advise that personally but that's what Belshazzar did he held a tremendous party and not only was there lots of drinking and not only were the prettiest women there and not only was the whole atmosphere one of disregarding the danger outside the walls and every other danger but just as that they also brought sacrilege into it they also used the vessels of the temple that they seized in Jerusalem and used him as part of their debauched party that was until a giant hand appeared and started writing on the wall it kind of interrupted the party now in all honesty as a preacher I have to tell you that the Bible does not say it was a giant hand but you and I figured out last time we're in dangers day after 5:00 it was a giant hand we just decided that that's what it would be a giant hand appeared and with some kind of writing instrument or maybe riding with its finger it wrote on the wall and nobody could understood what it meant but they knew this it wasn't good Belshazzar the king he went to pieces he started shaking started trembling and he said I'll give the third place in the kingdom I'll give all kind of riches on to anybody who can tell me what this means and nobody could tell him what it mean what it meant until finally he had a visit from the Queen Mother who walked in and said you need Daniel you need to speak to Daniel this is a man who knows what's going on so they they threw up the the bat-signal that got Daniel to come in and that's where we come to verse 13 then 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 who 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 me the interpretation of the thing finally they brought in Daniel and friends you know how it works I don't say this to condemn anybody I'm just trying to be real about human nature when I say being real about human nature I mean your nature and my nature this is human nature that when everything seems great when the party's going full-tilt when everything is just full of wine women and when God is mocked when God is ignored then who cares about Daniel but when the rioting goes on the wall when the giant hand interrupts the party and says hello listen to me then instantly you want to know something from the messenger of God now that's human nature it just is again I don't say it to condemn it but just to be real about it we tend to ignore God's message we tend to ignore God's messenger until there's an interruption in the party then suddenly God has our attention now I just say that to encourage you along these lines it actually doesn't have to be that way you can give God your attention right here right now you don't have to wait until something terrifying happens before you call in Daniel before you listen to God's message and God's Word but he brought him in and what does he say verse 14 ah I've heard of you I heard about you Daniel I don't really know you I'm pretty far distant removed but I didn't hear about you and then he says of Daniel verse 14 that the Spirit of God is in you and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you which are wonderful things to say about Daniel but what I find fascinating about is that he's quoting exactly what the queen-mother said about Daniel just a couple verses before it's like he doesn't know these things personally about Daniel but he's heard about him which is better than nothing but it just shows this distance between Belshazzar and Daniel and then he says verse 16 and I've heard of you that you can give interpretations and explain enigmas 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 third ruler in the kingdom I just find it revealing that in verse 16 he says for a second time and I've heard of you he's repeating himself look sometimes I can read a little bit too much into the scriptures and maybe the I sense Belshazzar's nervous you know how when you're nervous you can repeat yourself and kind say the same thing yeah I heard about you I heard daddy I did I tell you I heard about you he's nervous he's he's he's not all there he's trying to act cool and calm and collected and composed but something's not right with Belshazzar and then he makes Daniel the offer verse 16 if you can read the writing and make known to me its interpretation you shall be clothed in purple he wants to seem like he's in the man in charge I've got favors to give you Daniel I know it might seem like I'm a little freaked out here but really I'm in charge I've called you in I've got the favors can you help me out I'll hire you as a consultant look at Daniel's response in verse 17 he calmly says to to Belshazzar I need nothing from you look at their verse 17 then Daniel answered and said before the king let your gifts be for yourself and give your rewards to another yet I'll read the writing to the King and make known to him the interpretation I love how Daniel says let your gifts be to yourself and your reward for another there's something very powerful in the character of Daniel right here that as a man who truly trusted God Daniel needed nothing from King Belshazzar nothing King you say you got money to get me who cares my God was the cattle on a Thousand Hills you say you got prestige you want to put a gold chain around my neck I don't care I don't need your prestige you want to make me third ruler the kingdom God gives me the all authority I need there's just something so powerful about a man who has so much faith in God they just doesn't care about the rewards of this world Belshazzar was such a unserious profane man partying well as enemy army surrounds a city that Daniel just says it has a I don't need anything from you but I'm happy to help verse 17 I will read the writing to the King now again I may be guilty of reading a little bit too much into this but I compared Daniels approach to Belshazzar with Daniel's previous approach to Nebuchadnezzar you know there was a couple occasions where Daniel was called in to deliver bad news to Nebuchadnezzar when Daniel had to deliver bad news to Nebuchadnezzar it seemed to bother him Oh King man I'm sorry I I don't like this any but here's the news I don't sense the same sorrow in Daniel here with Belshazzar it's like bad news here it is not that Daniels rejoicing in it but he just doesn't have the same respect for Belshazzar that he had for Nebuchadnezzar and deservedly so so he's gonna say why he doesn't respect him as much now in verses 18 through 21 ready 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 whom ever he wished he executed whomever he wished he kept alive whomever he wished he set up and whomever he wished he put down but when his heart was lifted up and a spirit was hardened and 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 and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys they fed him with grass like oxen and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till he knew that the Most High God rules and the kingdom of man and appoints over it whomever he chooses Belshazzar you may fancy yourself a king but you're nothing like your predecessor King Nebuchadnezzar there was a man God gave him a kingdom God gave him an empire but when his heart verse 20 was lifted up when his spirit was hardened in Pride God knew how to bring him low and what was the lesson verse 21 till he knew that the Most High God rules and the kingdom of men and appoints over it whom ever chooses this was God's message to bail shazar and here's just kind of the basic point of it the point is really exposed in verses 22 and 23 that God gave Belshazzar a lesson to learn from you should have learned by looking at the life of Nebuchadnezzar you should have learned that God knows how to bring a high man low you should have learned all of that Belshazzar but verse 22 and 23 is gonna tell us how he did not notice it verse 22 but you his son Belshazzar have not humbled your heart although you knew all this and you've lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven they brought the vessels of his house before you and you and your Lords your wives and your concubines have drunk wine from them and you praise 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 it's a powerful phrase in verse 22 you his son Belshazzar and by the way let me just point out that Belshazzar was not the son of Nebuchadnezzar by genetics but through marriage most likely but certainly just through the succession and thrown in a royal succession since he was his son you verse 22 his son Belshazzar have not humbled your heart although you knew all this daniel was so harsh because Belshazzar should have known better he should have learned humility from the example of king nebuchadnezzar right in front of him Belshazzar should have learned everything he could from daniel instead of ignoring him and therefore and look at this phrase in verse 23 it's so powerful the god who holds your breath in his hand and owns all your ways you have not glorified now to say that Belshazzar had not glorified God was to put it very mildly what did he do he took the sacred vessels from the Temple in Jerusalem and he used him in the midst of his wild debauched party you bet he did not glorify the God of heaven but notices why should he have glorified the God of heaven he says right there in verse 23 because God holds your breath in his hand and owns all your ways would you think about that with me just for a moment that God holds not only the breath of a king in his hands but he owns all of our breath in his hands well this little earthquake action isn't it we had a little one before now if you're from out of state your heart might be beating a little bit if you're a native Californian it's just like we had one well just before who knows what will come again now which it actually leads to my next point very nice little boy now this is going to come off a lot heavier than I intended but so let it be God holds all our breath in his hand now this week visiting some dear people from our congregation who are in the hospital dear Saints two dear people Jane brown or Jake Rd if you're watching on the livestream we love you we're praying for you and you know it it's tough for them right now and and you know you wonder of life and death now when you visit or when you encounter people who are in that place you you kind of feel distant from their condition oh wow that's it's touch and go for them good thing I'm not facing that anytime soon you need spoken ly that's kind of how you feel but isn't it frightening to think and I only want you to think about this for a moment because if you think about it more for a moment you're not gonna listen to a thing else I say this whole message but is it a little humbling and frightening to think how fragile our lives really are at how many microscopic things could change in your body and we're just done we're done microscopic things I mean we we're okay I know other people they're like touch and go we're okay brother and sisters every breath we breathe is in the hand of God and we don't want to presume upon the future if God holds every breath in our hand he deserves our worship he deserves our honor but it's not just our breath it's our ways he holds our life in his hands now therefore the breath of the creature should praise the Creator but Belshazzar blaspheme God with his breath the ways of the creatures should glorify the Creator but Belshazzar used as ways to mock and offend God you I'm not speaking to any of you right at this moment as Christians I'm speaking to you as creatures as men and women made in the image of God you as men and women in the image of God I don't care if you don't believe it God exists he does exist you're his creation and because you are his creature you owe him worship and honor this is very important for us to understand that there is an appropriate honor that the creature should give to the creator and Belshazzar didn't violate that in a small way he violated it in a huge way but he holds our breath in his hands he holds our ways in his hands we are his creatures we owe him honor and glory so now with verse 24 we finally get to it and really some of the things that impresses me so much about the Bible is just how well the Bible is written how suspenseful II we've waited until verse 24 to figure out what's been written on the wall we told something was written on the wall but we didn't hear what it was right away the suspense has built now we find out what was actually written on the wall verse 24 then the fingers of the hand were sent from him and this writing was written this is the interpretation that was written many many Tekel upharsin and this is the interpretation of each word many God has numbered your kingdom and finished it techo you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting and Peres which by the way is a grammatical form of the word who farsh him that was written on the wall Peres your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians what was written on the wall and I believe probably it was written in Hebrew that's why none of the Babylonian magicians and counselors could even read it but Daniel the Hebrew could read it he walked in and written in Hebrew were four words one word was repeated twice men and men a and then the word Tekel and then farsan what did it mean well the word Menna means numbered numbered numbered the word Tekel means weighed and the word Peres again from the grammatical form of abortion the word Paris means divided so it means numbered numbered weighed divided what does it mean God had Belshazzar's number and it fell short now in fact he counted him twice men at Menna he repeated it twice I counted you twice and you come up short every time God had fairly and properly weighed Belshazzar and he came up light he was the light weight and then finally God would therefore divide the kingdom that Belshazzar ruled over taking it from him and dividing it between the Medes and the Persians pretty heavy message don't you think you see verse 24 says verse 27 excuse me says the Belshazzar had been weighed in the balances and found wanting now if I were a better preacher and made better use of props I would have constructed here on the stage a large balance scale but you can just picture it in your mind can't you you know what a balance scale looks like you know there's a tray on one end and there's a tray on the other and it goes up and down it balances things and it's a weight by balance you know you can tell if you have five ounces of gold from the balanced weight because you put a five ounce weight on one side and then the gold until it measures out and it's evened out you know what that's kind of scale looks like so here it is Belshazzar we put in God's honor and glory on one side of the scale and God's honor and glory that's pretty heavy there because we put in your life your rule your heart before God on the other side and what it is it's light the scales are like this you've been weighed and found wanting now let me tell you something about the way God measures the way God weighs when God ways he does it fairly he does it properly and he does it accurately fairly properly and accurately nobody should think that when God weighs he's got his thumb on the scale working it against man God weighs fairly he weighs properly he does a proper procedure when he weighs anyways accurately God's measurement the way God weighs things out it's right it's true and when he weighed Belshazzar he said you're a lightweight now I could kind of tie it up here real nice and neat and see Belshazzar was lacking before God but wouldn't it be irresponsible for me to not point out that God has not stopped weighing kingdoms God has not stopped weighing kings or rulers and God weighs individuals he weighs us he measures us if you listen to very much of my preaching or teaching you know I can't get very many sermons through without quoting from Charles Spurgeon sometime or not I I like Spurgeon I read a lot of him he was a great preacher of Victorian England and in preparing for this this teaching this morning I read a sermon that Charles Spurgeon preached in England in the year 1859 1859 remember before the civil war in America 1859 this is what Charles Spurgeon said in a sermon on this very text he says quote there is no God in heaven if the iniquity of slavery go unpunished there is no God existing in heaven above if the cry of the Negro does not bring down a red hail of blood upon the nation that still holds the black man in slavery almost two full years before the start of the Civil War Charles Spurgeon said that in a sermon preaching from England and it turned out to be exactly true because in the civil war that followed anywhere from three-quarters of a million to a million people died when you add up soldiers slaves and civilians collectively it's anywhere between three quarters of a million and a million people dead an ocean of blood because when God sees a horrific injustice such as slavery in America as it was practiced ladies and gentlemen it God says I'm gonna judge that I'm gonna weigh I'm gonna weigh this and I'm gonna bring judgment and he did now look it's kind of easy for us to look at it from a distance Belshazzar great institution of slavery the Civil War okay we get it but you know it comes down to us today too doesn't it how might God measure us today as a nation and as individuals it's a tough question isn't it I think about it in terms of us as a nation there's a lot of different things somebody could talk about you could talk about injustice you can talk about racism you can talk about economic systems one place I think of it has to do with the way that we treat the unborn in our own nation now look I know this is a difficult subject and I know one of the reasons it's difficult is because the last thing we want to do is heap guilt and condemnation upon those who who have practiced abortion either as a woman or as a man in a relationship you in some way you've been party to an abortion the last thing we want to do in the world is heap condemnation I listen the love of Jesus Christ is there for you the healing and the forgiveness and the restoration of Jesus is there for you you are not excluded from the kingdom of God but Jesus looks at you and says I will forgive I will restore come to me with your pain we understand that and we also understand that in in our nation this big political issue a lot of people have different opinions on all different sides I'll tell you one way that I think of the issue I am astounded in our nation at how radical our abortion laws are what do I mean by that in that in the United States of America any person at any point in the pregnancy for any reason can have an abortion that's the law in our nation and you understand that that is far more radical for example than most every country in Europe that in some ways the United States is one of the few nations that has the most extreme abortion laws ever ever that in many European countries there's restrictions having to do with the stage of the pregnancy or for the reasons not in America United States America any pregnancy at any point in the pregnancy for any reason whatsoever God looks on that he weighs now be honest with you sometimes we as preachers we think we know too much about the weighing of God and I can't tell you sometimes exactly how God weighs it and with what measure and with not but I'll take it God weighs and his ways are true his ways are perfect now it would be easy to if I just left it out with some kind of national issue you know some political hot-button but let me speak very directly to you and I'm speaking to myself as well God measures all of us as individuals and let me give you the bad news about this every single one of us comes up short in God's measurement remember that scale we were talking about you put the righteousness and the glory of God on one part of the scale and that's heavy that goes right down you put my life or your life or any of us on the other side of the scale and does it weigh out at all no we are the light weights I am the light weight we are all weighed and found wanting God looks at everyone who said you don't measure up but then but then the good news of the gospel comes along and what God gave to the world in the person and work of Jesus Christ especially through his death on the cross and his victory over sin and death at the empty tomb when that came everything changed because I told you before that God doesn't put his thumb on the scale but I didn't say old sorry you better believe he puts a thumb on the scale because for those who put their trust in Jesus Christ you know what God does God takes the same righteousness and glory of Jesus Christ I'll put it over on your side of the scale in that beautiful this is what God does [Applause] but the bad news is simply this I could let it many many Tekel upharsin yeah that's just Belshazzar back in Daniels day now that's just America and Civil War times or maybe that's just us today in our incredibly radical abortion laws in the country today I could talk about that but you know it's you and I we've been measured and we don't measure up but God says I'll provide for that and my son Jesus Christ so every one of us comes from that place of lack of not measuring up picaud says I will more than make up the measure I will even the scales I will do this for you so we see in this that there's both bad news and good news well verse 28 Daniel said that it would be given to the Medes and the Persians and just to summarize it was that very night and to summarize further it was in miraculous ways in other words gates were mysteriously left unlocked the great Greek historians tell us God had arranged it to where the Persians could walk right in through a combination of both divine intervention and their own ingenuity they were able to walk right in and that night they conquered Babylon Belshazzar with all of his arrogance their partying while an army surrounded his City God gave it o to him they didn't even have to scale the walls they walked right in gates that were inexplicably left unlocked it shows us something let me read you a quote from a man named Lehmann Strauss and his commentary on Daniel he says this he says empires do not stand by human might man-made machines and missiles there is not a wall high enough nor thick enough to prevent a nation from falling when God pronounces that nation's doom well our hope is we never get to that place that was soft and tender hearts before God nations repent before verse 29 so how do you respond to that message if your Bell shazar verse 29 then Belshazzar gave the command and they clothed Daniel with purple and put a chain of gold around his neck and made a proclamation concerning him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom all right here's my question when you see that but do you think Daniel do you think Belshazzar's as they believe Daniel did he believe you're going down tonight if he did believe them maybe it's just like well then you may as well be third ruler in the kingdom that's gonna last for about two more hours if he didn't believe him it's like well done Daniel well played I'll give you this stuff just because yeah I don't know what Bell says ours heart was but it's an interesting question whether or not he believed Daniel he promoted him to third ruler in a kingdom that was going to last about three more hours verse 30 that very night Belshazzar king of the Chaldeans was slain and Darius the Mede received the Kingdom being about 62 years old the word was fulfilled just as daniel said and a new king darius the mede came forward kings and kingdoms pass away but the work of God's kingdom continues forward continuing out his great plan of the ages the you and I we're not kings we're not queens we're just men and women trying to walk in this life before God but even we have a place in his plan and even we need to humble ourselves before our God and creator we want to submit and benefit by God's plan instead of being obstacles to it but there it stands very bold very straight for us Belshazzar was weighed and found lacking we all lacked before God but that's the bad news the good news don't ever forget it God has made provision for us in his son Jesus Christ and nobody needs to leave here a lightweight the invitation from Jesus is just the for you so let's pray father in heaven we pray and we ask that you would help every person here to live in light of your glory to live in a way that honors you as the creator and the one who holds our very breath we ask God that you would give us a proper respect towards you at the same time Lord without reservation we run to you as the one who makes us worthy before you in ourselves we would always be weighed and found lacking but for you Lord before you you you Lord give us the righteousness of Jesus give us his glory to every soul that will put their trust in you so help us with that Lord and pour out the greatness of your spirit upon us we pray this in Jesus name Amen this is a message from the Ministry of Calvary Chapel Santa Barbara for more information about our church please visit calvary sb calm

Channel: David Guzik

Views: 4,887

Rating: 4.8762889 out of 5

Keywords: judgment, daniel, belshazzar, writing on the wall

Id: Dox-8xriknk

Length: 36min 46sec (2206 seconds)

Published: Sat Sep 08 2018