The Handwriting On The Wall Part 2

Rain forests looking to Jesus, founder and perfecter when God is the nation's doom is certain processors and reason began with censored Babylon died with as much American if we don't need warnings of God church in Chicago this morning to win with Sir sauce make it across the finish line. Today we conclude a series on the church in Babylon unleashing the power of the spirit filled witness estimates are I'm sure processors eyes got real big. When Daniel interpreted the handwriting on the wall and you know Dave is so easy for us. Of course, to look back and say well the handwriting was very clear when it was interpreted and that's true that it was we don't have that kind of handwriting today, but we have many indications that our nation is beginning to this sand into a kind of paganism and we don't know what the and will be the reason I preach this series of messages is because my heart was so heavy seeing parallels between ancient Babylon and America today and for a gift of any amount. These messages can be yours so that you can listen to them again and again share them with your friends. Here's what you do go to RTW offer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337 thanks in advance for helping us share the gospel of Jesus Christ. We appreciate you and together we are making a difference. So that's the end of your kingdom and up story. Now notice verse 29 then Val Shatzer gave the command Daniel was closed with purple. He didn't want to pay but the king said, put a chain of gold around his neck proclamation was made about him that he should be the third and the ruler of the kingdom. Last thing Daniel was interested in and then verse 30. That very night Eliphaz or the Chaldean was killed and Darius the Mead received the kingdom being about 62 years old.

You know what happened. Herodotus tells us. Thank God for historians what he said was that time the Persians diverged in the Euphrates River.

Now they couldn't divert the whole thing, but they they built a tributary and kept it blocked like with the dam and then they took the dam away and the waters flowed over here in the water when down far enough that the soldiers were able to cross under the walls and so you have all of these soldiers who are going under the walls because the Euphrates river was low enough and they come into the banquet hall where all Shatzer and all of his friends are having this party and he is beheaded in the year 539 October 11 and the 12th and Babylon. What a story.

But how does it relate to us, what should we take home today for ourselves so that we are transformed by this story and understand our role in our world.

The first lesson which is very obvious is that when we reject God we invite his judgment when we reject God we invite his judgment because Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord and when God is relegated to the margins. When God is no longer acknowledge there's going to be judgment of some sort. Occasionally people say to me, Pastor Luther, do you think God is going to judge America. I have to point out that God is right now.

Judging America right now we are under judgment, all sin, whether it is national or individual has immediate consequences when you and I sin. There are some immediate consequences and through confession and so forth.

Some of those can't sequences might be mitigated thank God that he forgives us when we confess our sins, but all sin has immediate judgments connected with it and nationally. That's true as well. Sometimes God is judging us and I think the most.

Yes way in which God is judging America is through the destruction of the family as long as we accept what is known as marriage equality as long as we accept pornography and easy divorce, and immorality, and them 20 million children going home tonight with only one parent to put them to bed. Children crying for their daddies and for their mothers and angry because of what is taking place, taking all of that into the next generation that is part of the consequences of God's judgment. Now, sometimes God may judge a nation because of external forces certainly did that in the case of Bell Shatzer. Suddenly the kingdom was over because another nation invaded and won a war sometimes God's judgment is the rot within led to its normal conclusions and predictable conclusions. Sometimes the judgment of God is from without, but when a nation forgets God and neglects God and defies God judgment of some sort is absolutely in evitable. In the case of Bell Shatzer's pride is blasphemy against the living God, his defiance of God's acceptance of idols because the end of his kingdom there is a second lesson and that is simply this, that no defense can save us, no defense can save us. When God says your numbers up. You know you stop to think of it.

Remember what Daniel said to Bell Shatzer, the one in whose hand is your breath. You have not honored and God can, so to speak, pull the plug. No constitution can save us. No weapons can save us.

No organization can save us though I'm in favor of all of the above fact is when God says it's over. It is over very sobering.

The Bible says in the book of Isaiah.

It says that the nations of the earth are like a drop in the bucket. God says the nations of the earth are like dust held in your hand. And when God goes, it's over.

We don't know what the future of America will be, but if we continue on in this particular way. We know that it's future cannot be good because it cannot be good if you don't have good families.

If you don't have good values and if the Gospel be hidden.

The transforming power of Christ. No matter what happens, we simply cannot turn the ship around the gospel is what people need. There's another lesson and that is and this gets very sensitive here, but I'm gonna plow ahead. It is necessary for us as believers to read the handwriting on the wall handwriting on the wall. Now you and I can't read Aramaic like Daniel was able to. These words are actually Aramaic.

We can't read that we can read English and it's not just that God only wrote this with his finger. He wrote the 10 Commandments with the finger of God. It says, furthermore, God inspired an entire book or a book that is filled with books we read the New Testament and we know that God has revealed his will, and we can read that and so we can also read the handwriting that is on the wall I venture to say that today in the great city of Chicago. There's going to be a gay-rights parade and I understand according to the media that about a million people are going to be along the sidelines cheering them on. When we think of this, we should not see these people as our enemies by no means but we should see them as captives to the blinding absorption of sin and we know that once marriage is desecrated as it is going to be along the parade route. I heard what was going to take place on the news this morning as it is desecrated along the parade route from my heart to yours.

You and I know that the handwriting is on the wall and as we stopped to think of it when the time comes when marriage is desecrated and thousands of people accepted and she read on. We know how it will and because we read Romans chapter 1 in God's book. We don't need to read it in Aramaic. We just need to read it in English and once you have laws that are enacted that restrict our freedoms.

We also know that the handwriting is on the wall and once the Bible itself, as we proclaim it is known as hate speech.

We know that the writing is on the wall.

All of this happening and celebrated. Once you begin to celebrate those who are captive and you begin to celebrate various pathologies you know that the handwriting is on the wall so Pastor Luther, what do we do. I'm so glad you asked that question. By the way, is not what you're thinking should be. I want us to take a page today from Daniel himself. You have to love Daniel. He's a teenager. Any purposes in his heart that he will fully follow the Lord and not compromise his deep conviction. And now he's an 80-year-old man that he still standing strong for the truth. If you are brought up in Sunday school. You probably know that that we all love to tell the story of Daniel in the lion's den there to be a Daniel Derrida standalone Derrida have a purpose for and there to make it known. I pull that out of my childhood.

Do any of you remember singing matter in my alone appeared today.

All right if you raise your hand. That says something about you. You know that Daniel in the lion's den. He was over 80 years old, probably at least 85 that's the next chapter next chapter is Darius and what happens is there's some people who hate Daniel so they go to the king and say why don't you say that if people pray to anyone else other than you.

They have to be cast into the lions den and Darius falls for it and he issues that decree and that decree is issued and out. Lo and behold, Daniel is in a box he hears of the decree chapter 6, verse 10, when Daniel knew that the document had been signed.

He went into his house where he had his windows open in the upper chamber open toward Jerusalem he got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously that Daniel might assemble. There's no use me praying publicly and I'm not saying that you should parade your own righteousness publicly the world doesn't need more self-righteousness. The world needs more brokenness and humility and tears on our part. That's what we should be doing as we think of our society.

We should be weeping.

As I mentioned, they are enemies. They must be seen as captives and this is true of all people who don't know the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ and that Jesus came, Jesus came to set the captives free. But Daniel, God bless him. He continues on with his own habits of praying to Jerusalem three times a day a know the rest of the story, how that he is thrown into the den of lions, and God sees fit to protect them.

Not everyone thrown into the den of lions has been protected. You can look at the early chapters of church history. You can go through the circus maximum and wrong or the Coliseum. And remember that there were lions there that tore the Christians apart, but in this instance, God protected Daniel and you all know the story, but from my heart to yours today.

We've talked about the role of the church in the world. The role of the church in the world ultimately comes down to the world and the Christian living individually for Christ. How collectively we gather for strength. We gather for encouragement, but it's you as an individual. Daniel didn't have anybody standing with them thousands of people in the media Persian Empire, but only one Daniel so far as we know, you may be the one person in your office and your expected to celebrate marriage equality in all the implications that come with that but you don't.

It's not that you're being self-righteous or pointing your finger but you have your convictions and you're going to stick with them.

You may be in it in an instance in which the idea that Jesus is the only way to the father is anathema and you are really branded as some kind of radical of some sort that really doesn't even fit into society, but there you stand and you say here I stand all do it lovingly without spending a lot of time trying to judge others, but here I stand I can do no other. You see, when it comes to history. You have to recognize that the people whom we admire are the ones who stood alone and I appeal to you today as a believer stand alone like Daniel did and take the consequences.

Whatever those consequences may be.

You see, Jesus stood alone and he is a better example than Daniel when it came time for him to die on the cross. All of the disciples forsook him and fled and they went their way and Jesus was essentially alone, though later on. His mother and John returned to the cross. But there he obeyed God and he had to obey God alone so that you and I might be redeemed.

Are we willing to stand alone knowing that God stands with us. That's our challenge and if you're here today and you've never trusted Christ as your Savior. Just know that Jesus Christ is the one who went to the cross alone die for our sins so that you and I can be forgiven and we offer this eternal life to everyone. Everyone no matter their sexual orientation, no matter their history. We admire the fact that Jesus Christ died for sinners he died for us and that's the message that this world has to here but it means often that we simply standalone. That's why loved it when the choir this morning saying embrace the cross. That's what it means. As Bonhoeffer said whom we celebrated when we were in Europe so recently when Jesus Christ calls a man he bids him come and die.

The question is will the church will we as individuals stand with Christ in the midst of a culture that is getting more and more like the culture in Babylon. That's our challenge. Let's pray our father, we want to thank you today for this true story and it reminds us that Daniel stood alone in the midst of great pressure. We pray that we might stand alone Lord you've called us from diverse backgrounds, diverse cultures and races and locations and we come together to celebrate, to worship to to give you ourselves tomorrow morning will be alone. Inspire us Lord by the determination of Daniel and the saving work of Jesus Christ to be willing to stand alone no matter the cost. Pray in Jesus name, amen. This is Pastor Luther and let me have a personal word with you. I remember clearly as I was contemplating this series of messages the church in Babel and I was struggling for a moment, because I realize that America is not ancient Babel and it is not ancient Israel. We live in an entirely different era. So I asked the Lord for wisdom as to what the parallels might be that we can learn from.

Regarding ancient Babel and regarding Israel finding itself in the midst of the pagan culture and how that would apply to America. I do believe that the Lord gave me wisdom and it is been so encouraging to see the response that we have had to these messages. Would you like to have them in a permanent form so that you can listen to them again and again share them with your friends. Perhaps you missed some of them and you would like to have them for yourself for a gift of any amount, where making them available today. This is the last in the series and I hope that you will take advantage of this resource go to RTW offer.com that's RTW offer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337 ask for this series of messages the church in Babel and messages that you can review that you can think about that I believe will have a transforming impact to all who listen go to RTW offer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337 and thanks in advance for helping us running to win is in 20 different countries in three different languages because of people just like you.

It's time now for another chance for you to answer Pastor Luther a question about the Bible or the Christian life. What do you do to alleviate the pain caused by adultery you have committed an anonymous listener wants help Dr. Luther and here is what she says I have a 30 year relationship with a man that became a sexual affair. It has now ended, and he told his wife, my sons were aware of the relationship of also been called by the wife of the man asking about the details of this long-standing relationship.

What else do I have to do besides be forgiven by God or my dear sister, thank you so much for connecting with us. I can imagine the pain that you have been through during all of these 30 years, the conscience your conscience as it so troubled you couple of comments.

First of all, you say that Ted, the man's wife called you and asked about the details. It's not your responsibility to give her the details. It is the responsibility of her husband to give her the details so I don't think it's up to you to have a phone call from her and then she begins to dig into your life to find out what happened. She has a right to know a lot of things, but let her know that through her husband.

Secondly, you say that your sons knew about it. Have you genuinely gone to your sons, one by one, acknowledging your sin, asking them to forgive you. That's absolutely essential because if you don't.

If you simply put rug over the dirt so to speak. Your sons are going to be bitter against you. They are going to distrust you they will not respect you. Only repentance and genuine humility can bring about reconciliation. Next, what you need to know is that you have to apologize to anyone else who has been affected as a result of this long-standing affair, and finally to offer you some real genuine hope when David committed adultery. There was nothing that he could do to bring Uriah Bathsheba's husband back to life. There was nothing that he could possibly do to undo the affair.

The consequences were going to continue, but isn't it interesting that in Psalm 51 he says restore to me the joy of my salvation. So my dear sister, it is possible for you to still have the joy of your salvation.

Despite all the pain that is been caused, and all of the consequences which will continue in one way or another.

Your responsibility to clear your conscience so far as it can be cleared receive God's forgiveness and keep moving on as an expression and as an example of a sinner forgiven by God restored by grace. Thank you Dr. Luther for your compassionate answer if you'd like to hear your question answered.

Go to our website@rtwoffer.com and click on ask Pastor Luther or call us at 1-888-218-9337 that's 1-888-218-9337 you can write to us running to win 1635 N. LaSalle Boulevard Chicago, IL 60614. Everything seems upside down in our culture wrong is right and right is wrong. These are the times that try men's souls, and we all need a word of hope next time I'm running to win. Don't miss a message on living with anxiety and winning. Thanks for listening for Pastor Erwin Luther this is Dave McAllister running to win is sponsored by the Moody Church