so as a dentist he said earlier I'm<\/p>\n
going to be preaching in English this<\/p>\n
time so if anyone would like translation<\/p>\n
or if there's some all right let's get<\/p>\n
into it hello everybody I hope your<\/p>\n
weeks have been well uh it's hard to<\/p>\n
believe we're in November already<\/p>\n
seems like I'm just flying by<\/p>\n
uh this means that we're getting closer<\/p>\n
to Christmas and New Years which is a<\/p>\n
time of Celebration and food and family<\/p>\n
get-togethers and parties lots and lots<\/p>\n
of parties as we turn to Daniel 5 today<\/p>\n
we're going to be looking at a party man<\/p>\n
a huge magnificent party of over a<\/p>\n
thousand people now what does a party<\/p>\n
have anything to teach us about God<\/p>\n
actually that's great oh Jesus we thank<\/p>\n
you uh for your presence here with us<\/p>\n
like we pray that your Holy Spirit<\/p>\n
through your Holy Spirit<\/p>\n
our hearts Open the Eyes of our hearts<\/p>\n
help us to comprehend your awareness for<\/p>\n
us today news<\/p>\n
So Daniel 5<\/p>\n
I'll read to us one to nine and then<\/p>\n
we'll skip ahead to 17.<\/p>\n
so King King belshazzar David banquet<\/p>\n
for a thousand of his Nobles and drank<\/p>\n
wine with them well belshazzar was<\/p>\n
drinking his wine he gave orders to<\/p>\n
bring in the gold and silver goblins<\/p>\n
that nebuchadnezzari his father had<\/p>\n
taken from the Temple of Jerusalem so<\/p>\n
that the king and his Nobles his wives<\/p>\n
and his concubines my dream from them so<\/p>\n
they brought in the gold goblets that<\/p>\n
had been taken from the temple of God in<\/p>\n
Jerusalem and the king in his Nobles his<\/p>\n
wives and his concubines drink from them<\/p>\n
and as they drank the wine they praised<\/p>\n
the gods of gold and silver a bronze<\/p>\n
iron wood and Stone<\/p>\n
suddenly the fingers of a human hand<\/p>\n
appeared and wrote on the plaster of the<\/p>\n
wall near the lamb stand in the Royal<\/p>\n
House<\/p>\n
the king washed the hand as it broke his<\/p>\n
face turned pale and he was so<\/p>\n
frightened that his legs became weak and<\/p>\n
his knees were nothing<\/p>\n
the king summoned the enchanters the<\/p>\n
astrologers diviners then he said to<\/p>\n
these wise men of Babylon whoever reads<\/p>\n
this writing and tells me what it means<\/p>\n
will be closed in purple and have a gold<\/p>\n
chain placed around his head he will be<\/p>\n
made the third highest ruler in the<\/p>\n
Kingdom<\/p>\n
then all the king's wise men but they<\/p>\n
could not read the writing or tell the<\/p>\n
king what it meant<\/p>\n
the king belshazzar became even more<\/p>\n
terrified his face grew more pale his<\/p>\n
nobles were baffled<\/p>\n
so then what happens next is the queen<\/p>\n
reminds belshazzarov a man of the<\/p>\n
Kingdom who is a lot older now than<\/p>\n
before Daniel the queen tells melchizar<\/p>\n
to call for Daniel because he can<\/p>\n
interpret the writing so Daniel comes in<\/p>\n
and he comes before belshazzar and he<\/p>\n
says verse 17 you may keep your gifts<\/p>\n
for yourself and give your rewards to<\/p>\n
someone else nevertheless I will read<\/p>\n
the writing for the king and tell him<\/p>\n
what it means your majesty the most high<\/p>\n
God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar<\/p>\n
sovereignty and greatness and glory and<\/p>\n
Splendor because of the high position he<\/p>\n
gave him all all the nations and peoples<\/p>\n
of every language dreaded and Purity<\/p>\n
those who came wanted to put to death<\/p>\n
and put the deaths those who wanted to<\/p>\n
spare he spared those he wanted to<\/p>\n
promote and promoted and those who<\/p>\n
wanted to Humble be humbled but when his<\/p>\n
heart became arrogant and pardon the<\/p>\n
cried he was deposed from his Royal<\/p>\n
thrawn stripped of his glory he was<\/p>\n
driven away from people and given the<\/p>\n
mind of an animal he lived with the wild<\/p>\n
donkeys ate grass like the ox and his<\/p>\n
body was drenched with the Dew of Heaven<\/p>\n
until he acknowledged that the most high<\/p>\n
God is sovereign<\/p>\n
but you belshazzar his son has not<\/p>\n
humbled yourself though you knew all<\/p>\n
this instead you have set yourself up<\/p>\n
against the law of Heaven you had the<\/p>\n
goblets from his Temple brought to you<\/p>\n
and you to you and you and your Nobles<\/p>\n
your wives and your concubines drank<\/p>\n
wine from them<\/p>\n
a bronze iron wood and stone which<\/p>\n
cannot see or hear or understand but he<\/p>\n
will not honor The God Who holds in his<\/p>\n
hands your life in all your ways<\/p>\n
therefore he sent the hand that wrote<\/p>\n
the inscription this is the inscription<\/p>\n
that was written<\/p>\n
person here is what these words mean the<\/p>\n
days of your ring and brought it to an<\/p>\n
end Tango do you have been weighed on<\/p>\n
the scales and found one in Paris your<\/p>\n
kingdom is divided and given to the<\/p>\n
remains and the Persians<\/p>\n
then it does start command Daniel was<\/p>\n
called the purple the gold chain was<\/p>\n
placed around his neck he was proclaimed<\/p>\n
the third highest ruler in the Kingdom<\/p>\n
not very nice belshazzar King of the<\/p>\n
Babylonians were slim and there he has<\/p>\n
the big took over the Kingdom at the age<\/p>\n
of 62.<\/p>\n
this is the word of God<\/p>\n
so if we were to summarize<\/p>\n
one of the main themes of the Book of<\/p>\n
Daniel it would be in that God is King<\/p>\n
he is Sovereign over every Dominion<\/p>\n
every ruler every Kingdom throughout<\/p>\n
history including our own personal<\/p>\n
kingdoms as well<\/p>\n
in every chapter has told us this each<\/p>\n
with its own unique point<\/p>\n
so in chapters one and two we saw God's<\/p>\n
sovereignty and wisdom over<\/p>\n
Nebuchadnezzar's Kingdom he is the one<\/p>\n
who gave Nebuchadnezzar one of the most<\/p>\n
powerful empires in history<\/p>\n
chapter 3 we saw God's sovereignty in<\/p>\n
his ability to save those who are<\/p>\n
faithful to God<\/p>\n
in chapter 4 we saw God's sovereignty<\/p>\n
and humbling those who are proud<\/p>\n
and now as we get to chapter five we<\/p>\n
learn about God's sovereignty in a new<\/p>\n
way and we learn about the proper<\/p>\n
response to God's sovereignty and we do<\/p>\n
so through three images One the party<\/p>\n
two the prophet and three of the writing<\/p>\n
so verse one we see that King belshazzar<\/p>\n
throws a magnificent party it's not a<\/p>\n
normal banquet it's especially<\/p>\n
extravagant he has a thousand of his<\/p>\n
Nobles he has his wives his concubines<\/p>\n
and a lot of wine<\/p>\n
so there's there's pleasure there's a<\/p>\n
woman there's alcohol and then in verses<\/p>\n
three and four we read so they brought<\/p>\n
in the gold goblets that had been taken<\/p>\n
from the temple of God in Jerusalem and<\/p>\n
the king in his Nobles his wives and his<\/p>\n
concubine strength from them as they<\/p>\n
drank the wine they praised the gods of<\/p>\n
gold and silver of bronze iron wood and<\/p>\n
Stone<\/p>\n
so the question is what's going on who<\/p>\n
is belshazzar and why is he throwing<\/p>\n
this extravagant party<\/p>\n
so between chapter 4 and chapter five at<\/p>\n
least 20 if not 30 years has passed by<\/p>\n
uh Nebuchadnezzar has died and there<\/p>\n
have been three kings who have reigned<\/p>\n
during this time the current King right<\/p>\n
now during this time his name is<\/p>\n
nebonitis and so for most of his red<\/p>\n
nebonitis goes off into another city and<\/p>\n
entrusts the kingdom to his son<\/p>\n
and so we have to remember when the<\/p>\n
Bible calls someone their father it<\/p>\n
doesn't necessarily mean biological<\/p>\n
father it means predecessor so that's<\/p>\n
why uh belshazzar is referred to as<\/p>\n
Nebuchadnezzar's son<\/p>\n
so during this time Babylon is in crisis<\/p>\n
the Persian army led by a man named<\/p>\n
Cyrus is on its way to Babylon<\/p>\n
and a little bit before these events in<\/p>\n
chapter 5 Cyrus defeats nebonitis and<\/p>\n
the Babylonian Army in a battle<\/p>\n
and so right now Babylon is defenseless<\/p>\n
and the city is about to fall<\/p>\n
and this is all information<\/p>\n
of Daniel because Daniel's audiences<\/p>\n
expected to know all this already<\/p>\n
remember when we read the Bible it's<\/p>\n
important to take it into account the<\/p>\n
context and so the Persians are on his<\/p>\n
doorstep in a few days the city is going<\/p>\n
to be taken down and belshazzari decides<\/p>\n
to throw a party<\/p>\n
and not just any party a wild party<\/p>\n
with women with wine with the gold and<\/p>\n
silver goblets taken from the temple in<\/p>\n
Jerusalem when Babylon conquered Israel<\/p>\n
and while they do this it says they<\/p>\n
praise the gods of gold and silver of<\/p>\n
bronze iron wood and Stone<\/p>\n
this also was not normal one commentator<\/p>\n
says normally Babylonians avoided<\/p>\n
offending foreign gods and what<\/p>\n
belshazzar does is extremely offensive<\/p>\n
he takes the sacred goblets that belong<\/p>\n
to God and he drinks from them<\/p>\n
so through through belshazzar's actions<\/p>\n
he's showing everyone that belongs to<\/p>\n
greatness that Babylon is superior<\/p>\n
through his actions he's saying we are<\/p>\n
greater than anything or anyone and we<\/p>\n
are so much greater than the god of<\/p>\n
Israel that we're going to drink from<\/p>\n
his goblets and toast struggle and gods<\/p>\n
with his goblets and he can't do<\/p>\n
anything about it it's immense Pride<\/p>\n
so the question is why does all this<\/p>\n
happen why does he decide to throw this<\/p>\n
party right now<\/p>\n
remember the Persian army is on his<\/p>\n
doorstep there is a sense of fear around<\/p>\n
the city what would happen when the<\/p>\n
Persians got here<\/p>\n
would they kill everyone and take<\/p>\n
Babylon would they kill only the<\/p>\n
officials and let the people live<\/p>\n
would Babylon become a vassal state<\/p>\n
the feeling throughout the city was fear<\/p>\n
they wouldn't know what would happen in<\/p>\n
a few days<\/p>\n
and so some commentators have speculated<\/p>\n
belshazzar's throwing his party to show<\/p>\n
the people that he's still in control he<\/p>\n
wants to boost the confidence of<\/p>\n
citizens<\/p>\n
others say that by drinking from the<\/p>\n
goblets of the god of Israel and<\/p>\n
toasting his own Gods balcazar wants to<\/p>\n
show his people that the Babylonian Gods<\/p>\n
can defend them he wants to show that<\/p>\n
his people that belshazzar is capable of<\/p>\n
protecting them<\/p>\n
others say that he's living in denial<\/p>\n
he's saying no everything's fine I've<\/p>\n
always lived like a king and no Army no<\/p>\n
God is going to stop me<\/p>\n
and while these are all these are all<\/p>\n
true they're not mutually exclusive and<\/p>\n
we'll see these things as the story<\/p>\n
unfolds one point that we see here is<\/p>\n
that The Closer death gets the more<\/p>\n
emphasis that we place on Pleasure on<\/p>\n
wealth and on religion<\/p>\n
so one of the main fears of humanity is<\/p>\n
the fear of death and death is one thing<\/p>\n
that is certain for all of us a quote<\/p>\n
that's often been attributed to Buddha<\/p>\n
is that we begin to die from the moment<\/p>\n
we are born where birth is the cause of<\/p>\n
death<\/p>\n
death is inevitable<\/p>\n
it'll happen to<\/p>\n
everyone of us in this room not only<\/p>\n
that scientists say that in 5 billion<\/p>\n
years the sun will engulf the Earth in a<\/p>\n
fiery death<\/p>\n
and millions of years after that the<\/p>\n
entire universe will one day be nothing<\/p>\n
nothing but a litter of dead cold Stars<\/p>\n
traveling forever to the dark recesses<\/p>\n
of cold dark lifeless space<\/p>\n
so it's pretty bleed right here William<\/p>\n
Elaine Craig a philosopher he says if<\/p>\n
we're all doomed to die then nothing<\/p>\n
really matters no one's life has any<\/p>\n
ultimate significance all of our<\/p>\n
advancements with human knowledge to<\/p>\n
alleviate human suffering to live in<\/p>\n
peace that that's all meaningless<\/p>\n
and because Humanity ends in nothing we<\/p>\n
are nothing<\/p>\n
do you hear what he's saying he's saying<\/p>\n
if we're all doomed to die if death is<\/p>\n
all there is life is meaningless<\/p>\n
and this is the this is the modern<\/p>\n
mindset because there is no God<\/p>\n
because this is the final ending nothing<\/p>\n
matters but we can't live like that and<\/p>\n
so we give our life meaning we create<\/p>\n
meaning for ourselves<\/p>\n
and this is part of what we see in this<\/p>\n
party<\/p>\n
we see in the shadow of death with the<\/p>\n
medo-persian Army on their doorstep<\/p>\n
belshazzar and his Nobles throw a grand<\/p>\n
party and they turn to three things to<\/p>\n
cope with death the same three things<\/p>\n
that many many of us today turn to as<\/p>\n
well<\/p>\n
first they turn to pleasure and romance<\/p>\n
we see that with the wives and the<\/p>\n
concubines<\/p>\n
we see that today as well we look to the<\/p>\n
idea of relationships our significant<\/p>\n
other to complete us<\/p>\n
just take a look at songs today either<\/p>\n
in Thai English they're full of themes<\/p>\n
about love about worth significance<\/p>\n
dreaming about how good life is with a<\/p>\n
love partner or how breaking up is the<\/p>\n
end of the world<\/p>\n
so one way to try to find meaning is<\/p>\n
through finding someone who loves us<\/p>\n
it's it's as if salvation comes through<\/p>\n
the other person<\/p>\n
but this doesn't work because how can<\/p>\n
any human being live up to the<\/p>\n
expectation of being everything to<\/p>\n
someone else<\/p>\n
there's no human being that can meet all<\/p>\n
of our needs but yet you still try and<\/p>\n
it doesn't work<\/p>\n
second approach to try and find meaning<\/p>\n
is through achievement<\/p>\n
and we see that when belshazzar brings<\/p>\n
out the gold and silver goblets as a way<\/p>\n
of boasting and what he has achieved and<\/p>\n
conquered he's saying look at how<\/p>\n
powerful I am look at what I've achieved<\/p>\n
who can stop me I have everything not<\/p>\n
even God can stop me<\/p>\n
and we do the same thing today we think<\/p>\n
I have to make elastic impact<\/p>\n
I'm going to work really hard become<\/p>\n
better and more successful than anyone<\/p>\n
else so that I feel like I'm someone<\/p>\n
but this doesn't work either because if<\/p>\n
humanity is going to end in nothing<\/p>\n
ultimately one's achievements don't<\/p>\n
matter either<\/p>\n
he's boasting and what he's conquered<\/p>\n
But ultimately it's not going to matter<\/p>\n
final thing that we see that belches are<\/p>\n
in the Nobles turned to is religion<\/p>\n
praising the Gods in order to deal with<\/p>\n
death and significance we also turn to<\/p>\n
religion<\/p>\n
many people will go to a temple in<\/p>\n
tambun so that they can say I'm a good<\/p>\n
person I will be okay I will last<\/p>\n
plenty of people make agreements or<\/p>\n
deals with gods and say things like if<\/p>\n
you give me this I promise to do this if<\/p>\n
my son or daughter gets into this school<\/p>\n
I'll go to the temple and make Mary I<\/p>\n
promise to do what you want if you give<\/p>\n
me this one thing<\/p>\n
but that doesn't work either because<\/p>\n
there's always a sense of being unsure<\/p>\n
how much is enough<\/p>\n
and in all these cases what we're<\/p>\n
ultimately doing is making something<\/p>\n
else out to be done other than God<\/p>\n
himself<\/p>\n
in these cases we're either making<\/p>\n
achievement our god making someone else<\/p>\n
our God or ourselves our God we're<\/p>\n
giving something else for Glory that<\/p>\n
only God deserves and ultimately comes<\/p>\n
from placing oneself in the center it<\/p>\n
comes from Pride how's that<\/p>\n
let's see what happens next<\/p>\n
so all of a sudden the party in the<\/p>\n
middle of this party the fingers of a<\/p>\n
human hand appear<\/p>\n
start writing on the wall<\/p>\n
Industries are as terrified the alcohol<\/p>\n
leaves his body as his face turns pale<\/p>\n
and he's so frightened he can barely<\/p>\n
stand<\/p>\n
one commentator says on that day all<\/p>\n
sorts of horrifying thoughts must have<\/p>\n
raced through the wicked King's brain<\/p>\n
foremost of which was I have offended<\/p>\n
God today I died<\/p>\n
and then what happens next is the<\/p>\n
pattern throughout the Book of Daniel<\/p>\n
something confusing happens all the<\/p>\n
world's experts are brought in the<\/p>\n
astrologers the enchanters the diviners<\/p>\n
the world's wisdom is brought in and<\/p>\n
they can't figure it out<\/p>\n
none of the King's Men or the wisdom of<\/p>\n
the world could read the writing<\/p>\n
they were stuck<\/p>\n
but then the queen reminds belshazzar of<\/p>\n
a woman of a man who is now much older a<\/p>\n
man who is the spirit of the Holy gods<\/p>\n
of goodness so they call in Daniel and<\/p>\n
the King promises Daniel that if he can<\/p>\n
read the writing he'll be made third<\/p>\n
highest in the Kingdom<\/p>\n
remember this is our second his father<\/p>\n
is first so the third highest is the<\/p>\n
most that he can give to Daniel<\/p>\n
so he promised this to Daniel what does<\/p>\n
Daniel say<\/p>\n
verse 17 you may keep your gifts for<\/p>\n
yourself and give your rewards to<\/p>\n
why does he do this<\/p>\n
he's not just being humble he's not just<\/p>\n
like oh no I can't take it Daniel here<\/p>\n
acts out something that he says in the<\/p>\n
rest of the book<\/p>\n
that Daniel himself does not have any<\/p>\n
special wisdom compared to the experts<\/p>\n
rather the reason Daniel can read the<\/p>\n
writing is not because of his wisdom<\/p>\n
it's not because of his research but<\/p>\n
it's because God's revealed it to him<\/p>\n
it's God's wisdom it's revealed to him<\/p>\n
from God it's God's word<\/p>\n
and this<\/p>\n
shows us many things one thing it shows<\/p>\n
us is that if we want to get anywhere at<\/p>\n
all we have to start with God's word we<\/p>\n
need to trust God's word<\/p>\n
not just the parts that we agree with if<\/p>\n
we only believe the parts of God's word<\/p>\n
that we like and we agree with God Isn't<\/p>\n
Our God<\/p>\n
we are<\/p>\n
how would we know if we have a real<\/p>\n
living God and not just denial<\/p>\n
we're able to make God into what we want<\/p>\n
by saying yes I'll believe this about<\/p>\n
God I like this but oh I don't like this<\/p>\n
so I'm not going to believe that or I<\/p>\n
don't like this I won't do this or that<\/p>\n
can't be what God says is that not just<\/p>\n
making God into an idol is that not just<\/p>\n
us doing what we want at the end of the<\/p>\n
day<\/p>\n
so this is how we know that the God we<\/p>\n
worship and serve is not just in our<\/p>\n
imagination<\/p>\n
when we see God's opinion<\/p>\n
and we don't agree with it but we still<\/p>\n
trust and submit ourselves to God's word<\/p>\n
when we do this we place God in the<\/p>\n
center<\/p>\n
and when we don't when we only choose to<\/p>\n
obey the parts of scripture that we like<\/p>\n
or agree with<\/p>\n
we're placing ourselves in the center<\/p>\n
and here we get to the heart of the<\/p>\n
issue in Daniel 5.<\/p>\n
subscribe this is the whole problem this<\/p>\n
is the main issue here is pride<\/p>\n
so verses 18 and 21 Daniel recounts to<\/p>\n
belshazzard his father<\/p>\n
Nebuchadnezzar's issue that he was<\/p>\n
prideful and arrogant<\/p>\n
and then in verse 22 this is this is the<\/p>\n
heart of this chapter<\/p>\n
Daniel tells belshazzar you have not<\/p>\n
humbled yourself although you knew all<\/p>\n
of this this is the difference between<\/p>\n
five and four and four<\/p>\n
Nebuchadnezzar is humbled like a John<\/p>\n
trade showed us last week in five it's a<\/p>\n
little different because belshazzar<\/p>\n
knows he's seen what happens to<\/p>\n
Nebuchadnezzar he knows all this<\/p>\n
but he still hasn't humbled himself<\/p>\n
this is the heart of the story you have<\/p>\n
not humbled yourself although you give<\/p>\n
all this<\/p>\n
it's Pride question is what is this<\/p>\n
Pride so we looked at some of this last<\/p>\n
week with Trey with John Trey after<\/p>\n
Nebuchadnezzar gets humbled in Daniel<\/p>\n
chapter 4 he says in verse 17 now I<\/p>\n
Nebuchadnezzar praise and exalt and<\/p>\n
glorify the king of Heaven because<\/p>\n
everything he does is right and all his<\/p>\n
ways are just and those who walk in<\/p>\n
Pride he's able to Humble<\/p>\n
and then in verse 21 by 21<\/p>\n
Daniel recounts this he says<\/p>\n
Nebuchadnezzar lived with the wild<\/p>\n
donkeys and ate grass like the ox and<\/p>\n
his body was drenched with the Dew of<\/p>\n
Heaven until he acknowledged that the<\/p>\n
most high God is Sovereign over all<\/p>\n
kingdoms on Earth and sets over them<\/p>\n
anyone he wishes<\/p>\n
so this is what pride is pride is<\/p>\n
refusing to see that absolutely<\/p>\n
everything that we have and that we are<\/p>\n
as a gift of Grace<\/p>\n
have pride because they think what they<\/p>\n
have is something they've earned they<\/p>\n
don't realize it's a gift from God<\/p>\n
everything we have is a gift it's a gift<\/p>\n
of Grace whether we're the CEO of a<\/p>\n
company whether we live in a nice condo<\/p>\n
if our marriage is thriving or we own a<\/p>\n
nice car or that our kids go in the<\/p>\n
expense of school or we we even have<\/p>\n
friends or people who like us everything<\/p>\n
that we think we have everything we<\/p>\n
think we've accomplished is a sheer gift<\/p>\n
of Grace from God<\/p>\n
and and what's more<\/p>\n
remember how we talked about meaning and<\/p>\n
significance and the first point<\/p>\n
the reason Nebuchadnezzar the reason<\/p>\n
belshas are struggled with<\/p>\n
insignificance dreaming that there was<\/p>\n
always going to be someone to come and<\/p>\n
take the kingdom away was precisely<\/p>\n
because they felt that they had earned<\/p>\n
the place that they were at<\/p>\n
because he felt that everything he had<\/p>\n
earned was his accomplishment<\/p>\n
it led him to insecurity let him dead<\/p>\n
significance because he didn't realize<\/p>\n
he didn't<\/p>\n
believe that God had sent him over it<\/p>\n
how much pressure does it place on us<\/p>\n
when we think what we have is all<\/p>\n
because of our hard work<\/p>\n
will always be insecure and Restless<\/p>\n
Never Satisfied never content try and<\/p>\n
approve ourselves trying to make sure<\/p>\n
that we keep moving forward always in<\/p>\n
fear that what we have will be taken<\/p>\n
away<\/p>\n
and also will always be filled with a<\/p>\n
sense of insignificance but when we<\/p>\n
acknowledge that<\/p>\n
everything we have is a sheer gift of<\/p>\n
Grace from God it's immensely free<\/p>\n
the root of insignificance is pride the<\/p>\n
root of inferiority is pride because<\/p>\n
it's self-absorbed always concerned with<\/p>\n
how do I go pride is also the root of<\/p>\n
superiority pride is the root of all<\/p>\n
worry because worry is saying I know<\/p>\n
better than God how my life should go<\/p>\n
God gives us all things God gave<\/p>\n
Nebuchadnezzar the kingdom<\/p>\n
Nebuchadnezzar gave it to melshazar but<\/p>\n
yet Mel Cesar is acting as if he's<\/p>\n
earned it all by himself<\/p>\n
that's Pride that destroys us that will<\/p>\n
destroy him the way to gain significance<\/p>\n
the way to gain true and Lasting peace<\/p>\n
is not through Pride not through taking<\/p>\n
credit for what God's given us but<\/p>\n
acknowledging that everything we have<\/p>\n
every single thing that we have<\/p>\n
is a gift from God<\/p>\n
this frees us up to be generous with our<\/p>\n
possessions and our time<\/p>\n
this brings us up<\/p>\n
to not take ourselves as seriously this<\/p>\n
frees us up to finally relax<\/p>\n
God's in control<\/p>\n
we aren't the center of the universe<\/p>\n
we can step down from that place and<\/p>\n
instead of asking how can I get God to<\/p>\n
do what I want<\/p>\n
we can look at things rightly and say<\/p>\n
how can I join god with what God's<\/p>\n
already doing<\/p>\n
so on Races 22-23 Daniel is saying<\/p>\n
belshazzar even though you knew all this<\/p>\n
even though you saw what happened to<\/p>\n
Nebuchadnezzar how God humbled him even<\/p>\n
though you knew all this you have not<\/p>\n
humbled yourself<\/p>\n
instead you set yourself up against God<\/p>\n
you praise your gods of silver and gold<\/p>\n
but you did not honor The God Who holds<\/p>\n
him in his hand your life in all your<\/p>\n
ways<\/p>\n
belshazzar the finals God's vessels<\/p>\n
the godlets of the Temple<\/p>\n
one commentator<\/p>\n
writes it's always upsetting to see what<\/p>\n
poor substitutes Humanity exchanges the<\/p>\n
Living God for<\/p>\n
instead of defiling God's gifts instead<\/p>\n
of praising the gifts themselves that<\/p>\n
God's given<\/p>\n
when we allow God's gifts to point us to<\/p>\n
The Giver himself to point us to God<\/p>\n
sets himself up<\/p>\n
on the same level as God<\/p>\n
and so what does God do<\/p>\n
God humbles belshazzar<\/p>\n
very consistent with what Jesus says he<\/p>\n
says whoever exalts themselves will be<\/p>\n
humble and then those who humble<\/p>\n
themselves will be exalted<\/p>\n
the question is how does God humble<\/p>\n
belshazzar<\/p>\n
and this is now this is where we now<\/p>\n
look at the writing on the wall<\/p>\n
so<\/p>\n
what is the writing on the wall<\/p>\n
Daniel reads it and says<\/p>\n
he says God is numbered the days of your<\/p>\n
Reign and brought it to an end you have<\/p>\n
been waited on the scales and found one<\/p>\n
thing your kingdom is divided and given<\/p>\n
to the means and Persians in other words<\/p>\n
what God does hear through the writing<\/p>\n
on the wall<\/p>\n
is he sure as Mel Cesar who is really on<\/p>\n
the throne<\/p>\n
God shows gulshazzar and us that God is<\/p>\n
the true king<\/p>\n
and that he is Sovereign over every<\/p>\n
Dominion<\/p>\n
including our own<\/p>\n
so at this point in history God gives<\/p>\n
gosh is our revelation of his kingdom<\/p>\n
he says your kingdom is coming to an end<\/p>\n
at this point in history God reveals to<\/p>\n
belshazzar who is really King<\/p>\n
there's also another point in history<\/p>\n
where God reveals himself to be king and<\/p>\n
full<\/p>\n
so we see an X chapter 2 verse 31 Peter<\/p>\n
given a speech he says seeing what was<\/p>\n
to come he spoke of the resurrection of<\/p>\n
the Messiah that he was not abandoned to<\/p>\n
the realm of the dead nor did his body<\/p>\n
see the king<\/p>\n
God raised God has raised this Jesus to<\/p>\n
life and we are all witnesses to it<\/p>\n
exalted to the right hand of God he is<\/p>\n
received from the father and the<\/p>\n
promised Holy Spirit and is poured out<\/p>\n
what you now see and hear therefore<\/p>\n
let all Israel be assured of this God<\/p>\n
has made this Jesus whom you crucified<\/p>\n
both Lord<\/p>\n
and Messiah<\/p>\n
so at that point in history the way God<\/p>\n
revealed his kingdom to belshazzar<\/p>\n
through the writing on the wall at this<\/p>\n
point in history and acts<\/p>\n
the way God reveals himself<\/p>\n
to the world is through the resurrection<\/p>\n
of Jesus Christ the resurrection of<\/p>\n
Jesus Christ is the ultimate revelation<\/p>\n
of God's Kingdom<\/p>\n
the resurrection of Jesus Christ is not<\/p>\n
any old Miracle it's not just a trick<\/p>\n
it's an invasion it's an invasion of<\/p>\n
Heaven to Earth<\/p>\n
do you know what this means<\/p>\n
this means that through the resurrection<\/p>\n
of Jesus Christ the evil Powers the evil<\/p>\n
kingdoms of this world are slowly being<\/p>\n
torn down<\/p>\n
suffering hopelessness evil Injustice<\/p>\n
sin sickness death despair all these<\/p>\n
things are coming to an end<\/p>\n
they have an expiration date<\/p>\n
the resurrection means that even in the<\/p>\n
darkest times of Life there is a bright<\/p>\n
shining Ray of Hope that can never be<\/p>\n
quenched because of the resurrection of<\/p>\n
Jesus Christ there is not one single<\/p>\n
area of Our Lives personally or our<\/p>\n
society the world our city there is not<\/p>\n
one single area that is hopeless<\/p>\n
because of the Resurrection we have hope<\/p>\n
for the future that one day everything<\/p>\n
will be made right<\/p>\n
but not only this<\/p>\n
the resurrection of Jesus Christ means<\/p>\n
that our hope is from the future as well<\/p>\n
when Jesus rose<\/p>\n
he brought the future kingdom of God<\/p>\n
into the present and so that means not<\/p>\n
only do we have hope we have certainty<\/p>\n
it will happen and it's happening<\/p>\n
already the power by which God will<\/p>\n
destroy all suffering evil deformity<\/p>\n
disease and death has broken into<\/p>\n
history<\/p>\n
and when we believe in the Risen Jesus<\/p>\n
by faith the very spirit of God<\/p>\n
the very power that will one day remake<\/p>\n
the universe comes into us<\/p>\n
the resurrection of Jesus Christ is good<\/p>\n
news for the world<\/p>\n
Earl Ellis a Biblical scholar he says<\/p>\n
the lordship the Satan and of death<\/p>\n
yields to the in-breaking powers of the<\/p>\n
new age<\/p>\n
yet even as belshazzar's guests continue<\/p>\n
to feast<\/p>\n
unaware that his kingdom had fallen and<\/p>\n
his Doom had been sealed so the present<\/p>\n
age is unaware that Satan's Reign has<\/p>\n
been broken<\/p>\n
and cannot read what is written for the<\/p>\n
mission of the church to make the<\/p>\n
kingdom visible through feeding the<\/p>\n
hungry<\/p>\n
through changed lives the preaching of<\/p>\n
Grace is now the writing on the wall<\/p>\n
the kingdom of God has been brought in<\/p>\n
with Jesus and we the church are the<\/p>\n
writing on the wall<\/p>\n
we have a mission Jesus has created a<\/p>\n
community in which people's lives are<\/p>\n
being changed a community in which we<\/p>\n
are loving each other loving the world<\/p>\n
changing lives through Jesus's word this<\/p>\n
is how the world knows and sees that the<\/p>\n
kingdom of this world is coming down is<\/p>\n
through the church through Jesus's<\/p>\n
people through you through me through<\/p>\n
all of us here it's a message at hope<\/p>\n
it's a messenger life<\/p>\n
and what this means is are we living<\/p>\n
like how God intends us to live<\/p>\n
are we a sign of the coming Kingdom<\/p>\n
Jesus has given us significance he's<\/p>\n
given us his holy spirit<\/p>\n
we have the power to live as a sign of<\/p>\n
the kingdom of God do other people see<\/p>\n
that<\/p>\n
are we different<\/p>\n
remember who our King is he is the one<\/p>\n
who gave up of his glory<\/p>\n
he's the king but he emptied himself and<\/p>\n
became a servant<\/p>\n
he was made insignificant God turned<\/p>\n
away from him and he was nailed to a<\/p>\n
cross<\/p>\n
why<\/p>\n
so that when we received Jesus by faith<\/p>\n
we can be filled with significance with<\/p>\n
meaning with glory god now loves us the<\/p>\n
Holy Spirit lives inside of us and as a<\/p>\n
result there is something that we have<\/p>\n
joy peace hope the gospel<\/p>\n
something that we have that we are<\/p>\n
charged to share<\/p>\n
friends can the world see through us<\/p>\n
that Jesus kingdom is coming<\/p>\n
are we living as if Jesus Christ is our<\/p>\n
King<\/p>\n
is he is he your king<\/p>\n
would the whole world know let's pray<\/p>\n
pardon me<\/p>\n
as Praise You Lord as you are King<\/p>\n
I want a profound<\/p>\n
truth that is that we can step down from<\/p>\n
our throats right in battle before the<\/p>\n
ultimate throne<\/p>\n
but we thank you that we have hope we<\/p>\n
have certainty<\/p>\n
I would remind us this day now that<\/p>\n
we are filled with your experience one<\/p>\n
the very same spirit that<\/p>\n
raised Jesus from the Great<\/p>\n
but we're filled with that or would you<\/p>\n
help us but to join in<\/p>\n
with your mission we thank you that you<\/p>\n
love us we thank you that you'll never<\/p>\n
give up on us Lord we thank you that you<\/p>\n
would use people like us Lord to<\/p>\n
bring your kingdom Jesus<\/p>","english_search_text":"","":"","original_publish_date":"20221107","video_url":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=raG6QNwiQGo","video_id":"raG6QNwiQGo","video_duration":"31:08","channel_name":"Grace City Bangkok"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/805","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=805"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/805\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":806,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/805\/revisions\/806"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/804"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=805"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=805"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=805"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}