The Writing Is on the Wall | Special Sunday Message

Hey there, thanks for listening to the great glory part just a ministry supported by harvest partners on Greg Laurie encouraging you if you want to find out more about harvest ministries. Learn more about how to become a harvest partner, just go to harvest.org so the title of my message is the writing on the wall and would be looking at Daniel chapter 5, so you might turn there with me so maybe a year ago I went to the gym.

Believe it or not I go to the gym okay and and they had this really fancy high-tech machine and the guy says a Greg I would like to do a test on you no charge.

It's free, you will measure you will tell you what your body fat is you know it you'll learn everything you need to know about where you're at right up physically. I said three. Okay, let's do it. And so they measured me. My high my weight.

My body fed etc. so right out of the gate. The guy asked me how tall you I said I I'm I'm five 10 1/2 because all measured visas USC five 9 1/2, so we know. I am five 10 1/2. No you are anymore so I realize a great I've shrunk in the inch and then he says in your overweight, great. So no, I'm bald, I'm fat and I'm shrinking like that song says I'm not half the man I used to be. I guess that's true in my case or the why am I gaining weight and then I realized I think I know the reason it's something I discovered at the market. Not long ago are called. She could chance if you ever seen these okay so these just they're very affordable like $3.50 a bag so I bought a bag and try to my thought.

These are good to look addictive height.

The first one then I to then 83, then I'm overseeing the entire bag so I blame it on. She could ship so I said to my wife Kathy had to stop buying these chips. There are evil chips though. Let me buy them anymore but is at the market.

Not long after that with one of my granddaughters and I grab a couple bags and put them in the basket and she said Poppa why are you buying the evil chips because I like them well. So I did little post on Instagram about these chips go jokingly calling them the evil chips and I got contacted by she could ship company and they were very happy because I pointed out I column evil chips only because I'm addicted to them because they're so good and they think me it is her way of saying things they sent me a big box full of chips and I didn't know this very Christian company and I noticed that next to the little character here is something too commercial for them does not, but next to the little character of this little tortilla chip guides on the back. They have John 316 written there. At this up all right so my wife is why you eating the evil chips. I said, they're not evil chips. Their Christian chips and it is my responsibility as a Christian to support this company but I didn't work out too well on the scale so I got on this Quito diet is anybody here tried to really screaming for the Quito diet. Okay. The problem with the Quito diet is the greatest time on earth for the first three days because you can eat meat you can eat cheese you can eat fattening things avoid carbs alike. Literally.

After two days I'm streaming of carbs. I'm dreaming about pizza and the worst kind of diet to be on is the Quito diet and then eat carbs while you're on it because now it becomes the weight gain diet so you know what we can scale. In general, we want to weigh less, not more right well that's not true of God. Scales will be given. God scales we want to be a heavyweight. We want our life to have substance and meaning and weight because of our relationship with God to work in the look of the story now that you probably heard before, and some of you maybe haven't about a young man a weapon to be the king of Babylon, who was waiting. God scales and this guy was the lightest of lightweights, and this is a story God wrote on the wall of the palace. You heard that expression the writing is on the wall right this is where that expression came from.

This is a story of Belshazzar was the grandson of King Nebuchadnezzar. So this king were to look at the moment went out of his way to mock and attack God in the face the consequences was for the best.

It's never a good idea to mock God because the Bible says be not deceived, God is not mocked whatsoever a man sows, that will he also reap. Don't be a marker of God. I used to mock Christians because I didn't know any better I thought they were crazy. I thought they were delusional, but I had to admit they were pretty happy and so is a 17-year-old kid. This is 10 years ago plus decades more of my high school campus. I decided to eavesdrop on the Christians and I started off looking at them with skepticism and sort of laughing at them and for the first time I heard what it was they were saying that was the day that I ended up believing and so this is what happens here. Here's a guy who'd could not respond appropriately to the writing that was on the wall. I think the writing this on the wall for our culture right now you see it in the newsfeed you see it in events are happening around the world.

You see it in violence. Random acts of violence. I was just talking with the police chief and he was telling me violent acts are upright the chief I see these things on the news. Is it really that bad. He says it is more than ever it's hard for the police officers out there right now and we of course have the continuing opioid crisis and we continue to have conflicts over in the Middle East and we continue to have just instability among the nations of the world and the potential for war were literally seen Bible prophecies being fulfilled before our very eyes of the writing is on the wall so we can read it or are we going to ignore a regular pay attention to it, and here's what the writing said to the young king of Belshazzar buddy. Your number is up in one day your numbers going to be up in one day. My number is going to be up but we don't know when that is about a pastor that went to visit men named John who was very sick. In fact, he was dying in the hospital he couldn't even breathe. He needed an oxygen mask to a system. Therefore, the pastor could not hear what he was saying in this condition suddenly grew worse and so the pastor dropped to one knee and began to pray fervently for John and and he could see John was trying to say something but he couldn't speak because of the oxygen mask and the pastor gave John a pen and a piece of paper and John scribbled something down and tragically right there. John passed into eternity.

So the pastor took the little note John Road put it in the pocket of his coat, forgot about it until a few days later when he was doing the memorial service for John and as he was getting ready to speak. It suddenly occurred to him. John wrote me a note. These are actually his last words and without even reading it. He said to all the people assembled at John's funeral. He wrote me a note.

I'm sure will inspire all of us and he pulled it out and read these words pastor you're standing on my oxygen to it's a joke, people.

There never was a guy named John dying in the hospital. It's a joke. Okay king making no weight one sick never use this joke, people took it seriously and were traumatized and didn't really laugh. I got all the joke but there's going to be a day when we hear those final words and we too will pass into eternity little background on Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar. So Nebuchadnezzar was the king of Babylon. He conquered Israel and brought them into captivity back into this land that was filled with all kinds of false gods and idols. He was a very cruel king. In fact she took the king of Israel and forced him to watch his own children be put to death before his very eyes, and then he gouged out the eyes of the king of Israel, so this is of wicked man this is an evil man. This is what you would probably think of as an unreachable man but the prophet Daniel interpreted the dreams of King Nebuchadnezzar and God ultimately humbled this powerful king, and he came to his knees and he put his faith in God and literally told his entire kingdom. It was now a believer in the Lord God of Israel, it would be like if someone like him.

Kim Jong-Il of North Korea came to Christ and told everyone.

I'm a Christian now or someone like Saul of Tarsus, who was a Christian killer hunting down followers of Jesus, but the Lord got a hold of him and transformed him into the apostle Paul, one of the greatest preachers of all time. This is a remind me run a reminder that no one is beyond the reach of God. Think of the most evil person you know. Maybe it's your mom or dad. Maybe it's a neighbor. Maybe it's a coworker maybe had somebody else with whoever this person is you can't even imagine them ever believing in Jesus Christ. I'm telling you right now start praying for them and don't give up on them because no one is beyond the reach of God. God reads Nebuchadnezzar so he told everyone he believed, but somehow this message did not get passed down to his son and ultimately to his grandson so Nebuchadnezzar died and his son ruled in his stead.

In the name of his son was evil Mira.who names her kid evil Mira.I mean the kid ended up being a self-fulfilling prophecy.

He lived up to his name. People come up really random names to name kids these days actually did a Google search weird names that parents have given to their children and these are all real names.

None of these are made up. These are things that parents of literally name their kids starting with ABCD E Panama name is Africa leasing of the beginning of the alphabet about this one a real name are sent. Do you really want your kid to live up to their name arson. Another child was a Bacardi wino tequila. I mean your your naming your child after booth about this when they name their child banana all that gift can have a great time in school. I guarantee it. Another child was named brick brick. Another child was named Berger. Another was named chaos.

Would you hang around with a kid named chaos fails go. My name is chaos.

When go do some not really let go my friend arson here and I don't want arson or chaos. I want nothing to do with you.

Here's another one.

I'm not making this up. Parents name their kid Cassie.

That's is said Jesse.

Another kid was named hashtag really another kid was named IKEA really what about target. I don't know that would be really about Nate within another child was actually named Kale all that's really sad. Can't no one will ever play with the child in kale because no one really wants to eat kale therefore seen it on us right. Another child was named I can't believe this Netflix really is her child. Netflix we almost named him Amazon prime or Hulu, but we went with Netflix instead and then we went to prison riots Ryan hayrides you want to play with chaos have it in Cassie I mean is this crazy to more they name their child quiche man quiche and the final one though Vida. Though Vida quiche and Berger were all in a play together. Jesse you fit in here somewhere as well so Nebuchadnezzar named his son evil Mira.he lives up to his name. He turns out to be an evil person and clearly evil Mira dog to adopt concept faith on to his grand son look my son Jonathan is the pastor today, but I he's on the pastor because his dad's a pastor he's a pastor because he put his faith in Christ.

Just like Matthew West is that's a pastor, that doesn't mean anything. You have to make your own commitment to Christ. God doesn't have any grandchildren just sons and daughters in the way you become a son or a daughter of God are a child of God is by receiving Christ.

The Bible says, for as many as received him, he gave them the power to become sons of God, so is Daniel five opens we have the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar, the sonnet evil Mira dog going out of his way to laugh everything off and he went out of his way to mock and challenge God.

Let's see how that went for him. Daniel five starting in verse one reading from the new living translation king Belshazzar had a great feast for thousand of his nobles, you drink wine with them about Paul says it was drinking the wine. He gave orders to bring in the gold and silver cups that his predecessor, Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem are just the one little detail these cops and such were used for the worship of God.

He wanted to drink from them with his nobles as wives and his concubines and he brought these gold cups taken from the double.

The house of God, along with his kings and nobles and they drink from them and when they drink from them.

They praise their idols made of gold, silver and stone so he's going out of his way to laugh at that which God had set apart suddenly they saw the fingers of a human hand writing on the wall of the king's palace near the lampstand, the king himself so they can visit Road and his face turned pale with pride in his knees knocked together in fear in his legs gave way beneath them.

So it all starts when Belshazzar said have a big party, to shuffle, Michael stopped and like what guys do when another guy comes over to visit come out of the garage and little my stuff so that's Belshazzar check out all of my stuff look at what we took from Israel.

Look at all of these things so is going out of his way to make fun of God and then the drinking begins you know drinking makes you do stupid stuff doesn't, I just read about a four-year study that determined the following and I quote young adults to bridge drinking frequently are more likely to show up bad behavior that decision-making and other patterns at their fair peers who don't drink show you needed a four-year study to reveal that I could've told you that for free known you drink and you come under the influence of alcohol is generally lead to some bad things as it did in this story there worshiping his false gods and their breaking God's very lot and now they see I can writing on the wall.

Verse five.

At that very moment that that they saw the fingers of the human hand writing on the plaster wall of the king's palace and check it out there looking at the wall there's a lamp lighting that they see this handbuilt CVR. They just see a hand writing this heavenly graffiti up on the wall than what is that in and they read it ended those mysterious words. Many, many tackle bar sent so here's a man who had reached all of his goals. This is a man who had checked all the boxes for success declines of the top and he found there was nothing there. Belshazzar was the most powerful and famous and wealthy man in all of the world and a lot of people think fame is going to fill their soul you know if I can just get some more followers on Instagram or twitter in OIF I can just become warm or well known, read a survey that said 81% of 18 to 25-year-olds said getting riches or generations most important goal. 81% getting rich is the most important goal 51 per said 51% said the same thing about being famous.

My responses careful what you wish for. You might get it actor and comedian Jim Carrey was quoted to say I hope everyone will one day get rich and famous and they will have everything they ever dreamed of. And no that is not the answer. David Bowie of fame said fame could choose where things are hollow. Amy Winehouse, who tragically died of alcohol poisoning. At the peak of her fame made this statement famous like terminal cancer. I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

Justin Bieber posted on Instagram a while ago. Hey world that glamorous lifestyle you see portrayed by famous people on Instagram don't be folded.

The thinking their life is better than yours" careful what you wish for because a lot of people get it they see how empty it is. Belshazzar had that and more, and he is terrified as he sees this writing on the wall. The smirk is gone. The defiance of God is gone and now he is sobering up quickly and he doesn't know what to do and what is it say it says you been weighed in God's balances lose paraphrase. You are a spiritual lightweight it. The Bible says he turned pale and his knees started knocking implied in the original language. He defecated. If you don't know what that means. One commentator put it this way he pooped in his pants. I mean think about it. You see this hand writing on a wall in the sky sobered up so quickly and so enter the queen mother, it's time for grandma to show up. This is the wife of Nebuchadnezzar. She comes indoor foolish grandson and she says you know what you need to call for the prophet Daniel that Jenny would been there through the life and career of Nebuchadnezzar. He didn't have much to say to evil Mira.he kinda got off the grid checked on the social media accounts is 90 years old is a Daniel need to go see the king right. Also, Daniel started comes out of mothballs and walks there into the court, a Belshazzar and sees what is happening.

Belshazzar Sir didn't know a thing about Daniel. It's almost like he was intentionally ignorant even want to know about his grandfather and his conversion. He wanted to live his wife the way that you want to live in.

That's all.

Some people are telling him about Jesus is that I want to hear about it. I don't want to talk about a member for years I talked to my mom about my faith in Christ. She said I don't want to talk about. I don't want to talk about this over and over. I don't want to talk about that one day I felt directed by the Lord to go to her and say were going to talk about this today and thankfully the conversation resulted in my mom finally coming around to Christ and following him. But it took a long time because the hardest people to reach our members of your own family and so you might know somebody like this.

But God wants to reach them and he doesn't want you to give up on them so the prophet Daniel tells Belshazzar about his grandfather's conversion leases and 22 Belshazzar you knew all of this but you have not humbled yourself.

You knew it didn't do anything about. Sometimes a question is asked what about the person was never heard the gospel will God send them to hell if they live in the middle of a jungle in the middle of the desert.

There always in the desert or jungle will God send them to hell. Listen, you will be judged according to the like you of receipt. But here's the bottom line. You have heard the gospel is leaving gospel. The gospel is a word that simply means good news and the good news is that there is a God in heaven who loves you with the bad news is you've broken his commandments fallen short of his glory Christ died on the cross or your sin and if you turn from your sin, to put your faith in Jesus as your Savior and Lord will forgive you and you can go to heaven when you die and find the meaning of life right here and now. That's the gospel. So don't say have never heard it. You just heard it's in God will hold you accountable, so Daniel says you were woefully ignorant of this union want to hear it. And now God is said, your days are numbered. That's what many means it many, your days are numbered.

Your number is up.

The Bible tells us to say Psalm 90 verse 10 says 70 years are given to us. Some may even reach 80 you don't know how long you been� I am 68 years old right now.

Hard to believe this and it will be 69 by the end of this year. I'm just one year shy of 70. So it's real.

I understand that but I'm not afraid God gives me 10 years 20 years 30 years, every day is a gift to me from God and I want to live it for his glory. And I want to reach people with the gospel. You cannot extend your life. You know, you think of I just have a healthy diet tonight exercise word something every time you turn around, it's a person who's out jogging, who drops dead and has a heart attack me while the random person that eats all the wrong foods lives longer member watching the show on television. The news program and they said we have amenities over 100 years old.

These can reveal the secret of his longevity.

So I watch the whole dumb program just to find out what this guy did.

Finally, they revealed it is as old Dewdney says every day. Are you the hot dog like seriously and it showed him in the market, buying these really random hotdogs not even did not like Hebrew National.

These are the kind that it's questionable what they're made from PA. One of these hot dogs every day he lived just 100 years old.

Will the billionaires are trying to crack the code you know when your billionaire. You can do all kinds of stuff like outer space. We just saw a couple of billionaires do their job phases of Amazon and the other guy who went up the space as well and so this is something that you know I have got all this money and now the billionaires are trying to figure out how to extend their lives through technology they want to find a cure for aging.

One well-known billionaire once they have a computer chip strapped to his brain and not making this up. I one Silicon Valley billionaire is investing in the start up their promises to upload your brain into a computer to grant each Journal life to you to your consciousness.

No technology is not going to give you eternal life. Technology is not going to extend your life and it certainly not going to save your soul. Only God can do that is another thing I'm not making any of this up billionaires are getting blood transfusions from healthy young people between ages 16 and 25 feeling this could reverse aging. It had an unexpected side effect. They found a strong desire to move back into their parents homes and play video games all day long that they didn't plan on that.

But he says you you been weighed in the balances in you been found lacking. You want to have weight in your life as a follower of God, well Belshazzar the same, you know. Thank you for revealing this to me. I want to reward to. I want to lay some bling on you wanted to give you a gold chain to their wearing gold chains. Even back then and it says that verse 29 he dressed Daniel in purple robes and a gold chain was put around Daniel's neck and he was proclaimed the highest ruler in the kingdom.

But that night King Belshazzar.

The Babylonian king was killed is too late. He went too far.

You know there is a point of no return, or you reject something you reject the gospel. You say no to God in your heart can beat your rep terribly hard. Every time you hear the gospel and you say no to it, your heart can become harder your conscience you can become more sincere and then before you know it you're going to have your last night you have your last meal and you really give your last statement and you may not even necessarily know that your last statement.

Michael Jackson was trying to make a comeback and he was rehearsing for a world tour and his final words were, this is it. This is really it, and he died shortly after making that statement. Nostradamus is known for predicting the future predicting arrive at least one time, he said. Tomorrow I shall no longer be here and he wasn't the famous artist Pablo Picasso gave his last words drink to me drink to my help because I can drink anymore leader of a famous rock band took his own life and on a note clipped on his shirt.

He wrote his final words I am a lonely soul. Are you a lonely soul. It was too late for Belshazzar. He went too far, but it's not too late for you. You want to be ready. You want to get right with God and so he only had to do was admit to sin, but he was unwilling to do that. This is not the only time God is written God road on a wall in our story before us. But there's another time God wrote it's when Jesus walked this earth. And remember there was a woman caught in sexual sin. They brought her before Jesus and if you are on the ground. It is said the law says should be she should be put to death. What you say Jesus look around at these self-righteous, sanctimonious hypocrites and the Bible says he reached down and started right in the sand.

I'm wondering one of the bright was at the tic-tac-toe game. I'm at your zero go. I don't know what he wrote.

Then he stood up and said let him that is without sin among you cast the first stone in the Bible says they left from the oldest to the youngest. Then he turned of this woman. He said woman where your accusers. She said I have the Lord said neither do I accuse you go and sin no more.

He wrote on the sand and he for gave her just as God wrote on the wall and I wonder if there's somebody right here that's been running from God may be going out of your work on out of your way to make fun of Christians, but your realizing you need God right now because less than the me one day your numbers going to be up one of these days you're going to have your last meal and you get to make your last statement, and then you can enter eternity in the thing you want to be sure of is that you will go to heaven and be right with God that I wonder right now is you hear me. I wonder if you could say I know I will go to heaven when I die.

Or maybe that's something that is a big? Over I was talking to a guy not long ago were out riding motorcycles and were watching the sky fish and we started to chat with him and I started talking to him about Christ and I asked him a question.

Do you think you'll go to heaven when you die in these said I think so and I said why he says because I'm a good person lesson. I'm sure you're very good person, but unfortunately you're not good enough to get to heaven in your own ability because we've all sinned and we've all broken God's commandments. That's why God sent his son Jesus Christ to die for us on the cross but it's not just enough to know that intellectually I have to respond to in the Bible says I need to repent of my sin. The repent word repent means staying a U-turn. It's a military term that means to turn around and about face. So instead of running from God, you run to God, then you need to receive Jesus Christ into your life is your Savior and Lord.

And that's why want to close this message for you right now this is your moment to us Christ in your life and be forgiven of all of your sin so you can know with certainty to go to heaven when you die, if you haven't done that to it now is a well I'll do when I'm older like you I would John Mike 82. Here's a problem with that.

If you hear the gospel over and over again and say no to it, you're going to be set in your wings it will be the God doesn't want to forgive you.

He's always willing to forgive for the good come a point where you would go beyond the point of no return and actually you would not want to be forgiven. So put it off and then how do you know you're going to make it to 80. How do you know you can make it to 70. Belshazzar was a very young man when his life came to an end. This could be the last night for somebody that I'm talking to right now. If you're Christian you don't have to be afraid because the Bible says to live is Christ and the die is gain on though going to God's presence.

But if you're not a Christian you should be scared.

You should be worried that can all change right now for you if you'll say Lord forgive me of my sin, live in my life. I want to be ready to meet you one day if you've not done that yet you can do it right here right now I'm in the close of the prayer and I'm in. I asked you if you don't have Christ living in your life. If you're not sure your sin is forgiven of and ask you to respond to this invitation. I'm going to extend you right now so let's all bow our heads and everybody pray father, thank you for your love for us. Thank you so much for sending Jesus Christ. The die on the cross for our sin and the rise again from the dead. Now I pray for everyone here and everyone that's watching and listening wherever they are.

If they don't know you yet. Let this be the moment they believe. Let this be the moment they come to put their faith in Jesus Christ, we commit them to you now in Jesus name we ask this now let heads about and her eyes are closed. Maybe there's somebody here that would say I want to go to heaven when I die I want Christ to come in the my life. I want to be forgiven of all of my sin. I don't know when my number will be up but I want to be ready to meet God. Pray for me. Listen, if you're not sure Christ is living in your life. If you're not certain that you go to heaven when you die. If you've tried to fill that hole in your heart, with all the things this culture offers in the found it isn't working, and you want Christ to come and live inside of you. I want you to raise your hand up right now. Wherever you are saying I need Jesus in my life right now.

Just raise your hand up.

I'll pray for you, bless you. God bless you, bless you. God bless you wherever you are.

I see your hands raise your hand up when we pray for God bless you as well. Anybody else you need Jesus in your life publish.

God bless all of you nominal leads you in a prayer. Now when I ask you to pray this prayer in you that are watching him and ask you to pray the same prayer. This is a prayer we are asking Jesus Christ to come in your life. So get this. I pray just pray this in fact you could pray it out loud after me right now. Pray these words Lord Jesus, I know that I'm a sinner but I know that you're the Savior who died on the cross for my sin and rose again from the dead. I churn from my sin. Now, and I choose to follow you from this moment forward as my Savior and Lord is my God and friend. Thank you for sharing this prayer. The answering this prayer in Jesus name I pray, amen. Everybody thinks or listening to this podcast to learn more about harvest ministries follow the show and consider supporting it. Just go to harvest.org and find out how to know God personally go to harvest.org and click on know God