The Writing is on the Wall: Filled with Regret

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Gone will many times over there lauded in the minority engine every time pastor Greg Laurie.

Every time you hear the gospel say no to your heart, your conscience to become more severe than before you know it you have your last night you have your last meal you give your last enter. You want to be sure you will go to school. If I'd only known that would be the last time watching my mom only know the house wasn't safe to live in the water wasn't safe to drink the car to drive. Many may have a similar regret. When a one day stand before the Lord today on the new beginning. Greg Laurie brings us face-to-face serves as a warning to look you probably heard before, and some of you maybe haven't about a young man what would be the king of Babylon, who was waving God scales and this guy was the lightest of lightweight and this is a story where God rolled 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 Morgan a 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.

Let's see how that went for Daniel five starting in verse one reading from the new living translation. King Belshazzar had a great feast for a thousand of his nobles, you drink wine with them, Paul says it was drinking the wine gave orders to bring in the gold and silver cups that his predecessor, Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem by 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, his wives and his concubines and he brought his gold cups taken from the double.

The house of God, along with his kings and nobles and they drank from them and when they drank 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 said 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 I have a big party, to shuffle, Michael stop, like what guys do when another guy comes over to visit come out of the garage.

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 knowing you drink, you come under the influence of alcohol. This generally lead to some bad things as it did in this story there worshiping his false gods in 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 grip.

Edie hop on the wall. But 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 declined of the company found there was nothing there. Belshazzar was the most powerful and famous and wealthy man in all of the world 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've been weighed in God's balances is paraphrased. You are a spiritual lightweight. The Bible says he turned pale and his knees started knocking implied in the original language.

He defecated me 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 into her foolish grandson and she says you know what you need to call for the prophet Daniel that Daniel had been there through that life and career of Nebuchadnezzar. He didn't have much to say to evil mirror.you kinda got off the grid checked on the social media accounts is nine years old is a Daniel need to go see the King right now the Daniel started comes out of mothballs walks their end of the court of Belshazzar and sees what is happening. Belshazzar 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 life the way that you want to live in mental some people tell them about Jesus is that I want to hear about it.

I don't want to talk about it. I 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 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, that conversation resulted in my mom finally coming around to Christ. 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. He says in 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 who is 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 light. You will receive. 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, but the bad news is you broken his commandments and fallen short of his glory, but Christ died on the cross for 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 and God will hold you accountable so Daniel says you are willfully ignorant of this even 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 your great glory of the second half of this message moment right after a quick look at the way a new beginning touches the lives of listeners and I can I wow she that's a great little letter is netted 10 years old. She wants to dicker cat they have, and I don't know what I can say about that. But I'll tell you this much.

I'm so glad that she's watching and it's getting through to her that she loved the rush of hope. I'm always thrilled when I get a letter from a kid, I have to tell you I have a soft spot in my heart for little ones. I love to engage them because you know you never know.

That might so little see them their heart that will break ground later but we love children and were so thankful children are watching our ministry that we put out there online and on radio and if you're a little kid in your listing right now.

I'm so thankful you're listening and I know a lot of times you tell me you love the jokes so the jokes are going to keep coming kids and keep listening.

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Thank you for your support of a new beginning and you could send a generous year-end gift today by going to harvest.org will today. Pastor Greg is pointing out how we all will one day stand before the Lord. Today's message is titled the writing is on the wall some 90 verse 10 says 70 years are given to us. Some may even reach 80 you don't know how long you're going to live. I am 68 years old right now.

Hard to believe this hobby 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 ask then your line, you know, you think of I just have a healthy diet tonight exercise where it seems 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 a man whose over 100 years old.

This 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 that is as old Dewdney says every day are you hot dog like seriously and it showed up in the market, buying these really random hotdogs not even that not like Hebrew National. These are the kind that it's questionable what they're made from each one of these hot dogs every day you live faster hundred years old. Will the billionaires are trying to crack the code you know when your billionaire can do all kinds of stuff like outer space 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 arranging one well-known billionaire once they have a computer chip trap to his brain and not making this up one Silicon Valley billionaire is investing in a startup that promises to upload your brain into a computer to grant eternal 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 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 Bill says are the same no, thank you for revealing this to me.

I want to reward to. I would 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. 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 get to 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 to her 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 predicted a ride 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't 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, 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 wrote on the wall in our story before us. But there's another time God wrote it's when Jesus walked this earth.

Remember there was a woman caught in sexual sin.

They brought her before Jesus and he threw on the ground. It is said the law says she should be put to death. What you say Jesus look around at these self righteous sanctimonious hypocrite in the Bible says he reached down and started right in the same I'm wondering one of the right was the tic-tac-toe game I'm at your zero, 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 to this woman instead woman where your accusers. She said I have the Lord. He said neither do I accuse you go and sin no more. He wrote on the same 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 maybe gone 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 a 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 you think you'll go to heaven when you die, and he said I think so and I said why he says because I'm a good person and I said 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. And that's why God sent his son Jesus Christ died for us on the cross but it's not just enough to know that intellectually I have to respond to it in the Bible says I need to repent of my sin. The repent word repent means thing a U-turn it's a military term that means turn around and about face. So instead of running from God, you run to God and 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 ask 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. Do it now is a well I'll do when I'm older like you I would tell Mike 82.

Here's a problem with that. You hear the gospel over and over again and say don't do it you're going to be set in your way. It will be the God doesn't want to forgive you. He's always willing to forgive but the get 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 really 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 but 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, feel, say, Lord forgive me of my sin, and live in my line.

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, 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 to 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. 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 a Greg Lord important prayer and if you'd like to make a change in your relationship with the Lord today. Pastor Greg wants to help you do that and he'll do so before today's addition of a new beginning. Concludes, and then were so excited about making a wonderful video resource available for you and your family have you heard of the television series called the chosen.

It's the first multi-season series about the life of Christ, and it's also get this the highest crowd funded TV series or film project of all time. It's a series that portrays Christ through the eyes of those who met him and walk with him and it's powerful.

The cinematography is stunning and the acting is really first rate and how accurate is it to what we read in Scripture.

Well, the show has biblical scholars from a variety of denominations reviewing scripts to ensure historical and biblical accuracy. The chosen help you see what it's like to live life side-by-side with Jesus as he encounters needy people who need a touch of the Masters hand. Pastor Greg says this is the best for trail of the life of Christ he's ever seen on film and we want to make season one of the critically acclaimed series called the chosen available to you on DVD. What a great Christmas present, especially for those who need to meet Christ personally.

It can be a Christmas gift with an eternal purpose is our thank you gift for your donation right now, that's an investment in change lives through a new beginning and through our large evangelistic events. We heard this from someone who just attended SoCal harvest a few weeks ago I listen with my heart instead of my ears and it became clear I need Jesus in my life. Not tomorrow, not five minutes from now. But right now what your investment helps people have a moment of decision like that. So we hope to make a donation today. You can donate securely online@harvest.org or write a new beginning. Box 4000, Riverside, CA 92514 or call any time around the clock at 1-800-821-3300. That's 1-800-821-3300 Pastor Greg a few moments ago you spoke of how someone can accept God's offer of eternal life. Could you help the person who wants to do that very thing right now. Yes, I'd be delighted to listen as you listen to this program today. Maybe some is been happening inside of your heart. We are sensing I need to do this personally, but how do I do it and what oh I do, let me help you. It's very simple affected so simple. You may be shocked God's relationship with him is just a prayer away. The Bible says if you will call upon the name of the Lord you will be saved, so I'd like to lead you in a prayer we you do just that you call on the name of the Lord. This can be the moment when you change your eternal address literally from hell to heaven. Just 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 me, and rose again from the dead, Jesus I choose to follow you from this moment forward in your name I pray. Amen. I know it's such a simple short prayer but you just called on the name of the Lord, and you know what he heard that prayer and if you meant there prayer in your heart, he answered that prayer now let me help you to get started on the right foot in your new life in Jesus Christ. The greatest adventure awaits you the life of walking with God. I want to send you what we call a new believers growth pack that includes the new believers Bible and a whole lot more and let me be the first to see the you congratulations and welcome to the family of God and to get that three new believers growth pack. Just ask for it if you prayed along with Pastor Greg to receive Christ today will be glad to send 1 Your Way right is set a new beginning. Box 4000, Riverside, CA 92514 or call 1-800-821-3300 call us anytime again at 1-800-821-3300 or go online to harvest.org and click know God Pastor Greg brings us a fascinating message called what I would tell my younger self personal practical wisdom coming our way. Join us here on a new beginning.

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