WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:09.839 The scripture reading is from Daniel chapter 5. I'm going to invite one of our congregation, Sheena Innes, to come and to read that passage for us. 00:00:09.839 --> 00:00:09.839 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:46.659 Shazar, when he tasted the wine, commanded that the vessels of gold and silver that Nebuchadnezzar, his father, had taken out of the temple in Jerusalem be brought, that the king and his lords, his wives and his concubines might drink from them. 00:00:47.400 --> 00:00:53.179 Then they brought in the golden vessels that had been taken out of the temple, the house of the Lord in Jerusalem. 00:00:53.179 --> 00:00:59.500 And the king and his lords, his wives and his concubines drank from them. 00:01:00.079 --> 00:01:07.879 They drank wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood and stone. 00:01:09.980 --> 00:01:21.420 Immediately, the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace, opposite the lampstand, and the king saw the hand as it wrote. 00:01:21.420 --> 00:01:30.579 Then the king's colour changed, and his thoughts alarmed him, his limbs gave way, and his knees knocked together. 00:01:31.320 --> 00:01:32.859 And then in verse 13. 00:01:35.180 --> 00:01:37.640 Then Daniel was brought in before the king. 00:01:38.219 --> 00:01:40.219 The king answered and said to Daniel, 00:01:40.219 --> 00:02:06.299 Now the wise men, the enchanters, have been brought in before me to read this writing and make known to me its interpretation, 00:02:06.299 --> 00:02:09.819 but they could not show the interpretation of the matter. 00:02:10.579 --> 00:02:15.599 But I have heard that you can give interpretations and solve problems. 00:02:16.379 --> 00:02:20.079 Now if you can read the writing and make known to me its interpretation, 00:02:20.919 --> 00:02:27.199 you shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around your neck and shall be the third ruler of the kingdom. 00:02:27.199 --> 00:02:32.000 Then Daniel answered and said before the king, 00:02:32.479 --> 00:02:37.119 Let your gifts be for yourself and give your rewards to another. 00:02:38.299 --> 00:02:43.579 Nevertheless, I will read the writing to the king and make known to him the interpretation. 00:02:45.179 --> 00:02:52.979 O king, the most high God, gave Nebuchadnezzar, your father, kingship and greatness and glory and majesty. 00:02:52.979 --> 00:03:00.739 And because of the greatness that he gave him, all peoples, nations and languages trembled and feared before him. 00:03:01.819 --> 00:03:03.579 Whom he would, he killed. 00:03:04.139 --> 00:03:06.339 And whom he would, he kept alive. 00:03:07.159 --> 00:03:09.000 Whom he would, he raised up. 00:03:09.459 --> 00:03:11.299 And whom he would, he humbled. 00:03:12.319 --> 00:03:16.819 But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, 00:03:17.299 --> 00:03:21.839 he was brought down from his kingly throne and his glory was taken from him. 00:03:21.840 --> 00:03:31.080 He was driven from among the children of mankind and his mind was made like that of a beast and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. 00:03:31.900 --> 00:03:44.379 He was fed grass like an ox and his body was wet with the dew of heaven until he knew that the most high God rules the kingdom of mankind and sets over it whom he will. 00:03:44.379 --> 00:03:51.819 And you, his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this. 00:03:52.259 --> 00:04:00.979 But you've lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven and vessels of this house, of his house have been brought in before you. 00:04:00.979 --> 00:04:06.219 And you and your lords, your wives and your concubines have drunk wine from them. 00:04:06.799 --> 00:04:16.019 And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which do not see or hear or know. 00:04:16.019 --> 00:04:23.560 But the God in whose hand is your breath and whose are all your ways you have not honoured. 00:04:25.060 --> 00:04:29.699 Then from his presence the hand was sent and this writing was inscribed. 00:04:30.339 --> 00:04:32.599 And this is the writing that was inscribed. 00:04:33.819 --> 00:04:36.899 Many, many, tekel and parson. 00:04:36.899 --> 00:04:40.299 This is the interpretation of the matter. 00:04:41.039 --> 00:04:45.819 Many, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end. 00:04:46.699 --> 00:04:50.399 Tekel, you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting. 00:04:51.299 --> 00:04:55.939 Peres, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians. 00:04:57.060 --> 00:05:01.919 Then Belshazzar gave the command and Daniel was clothed with purple. 00:05:01.920 --> 00:05:10.100 A chain of gold was put round his neck and a proclamation was made about him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. 00:05:10.939 --> 00:05:15.200 That very night, Belshazzar, the Chaldean king, was killed. 00:05:16.180 --> 00:05:21.700 And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about 62 years old. 00:05:22.420 --> 00:05:22.780 Amen. 00:05:23.220 --> 00:05:25.540 May God bless that reading of his word. 00:05:25.540 --> 00:05:33.300 We're back in the book of Daniel after being away for one week. 00:05:33.540 --> 00:05:36.160 And this is a story like they've all been with a lot of drama. 00:05:37.360 --> 00:05:41.160 And Daniel and his friends, they are Jewish exiles. 00:05:41.340 --> 00:05:45.600 They were taken from Babylon in 605 B.C. by the king Nebuchadnezzar. 00:05:47.180 --> 00:05:50.340 Nebuchadnezzar would come back later and destroy Jerusalem in 587. 00:05:50.339 --> 00:05:58.219 But in this story, we are all the way down to 539 B.C., 66 years later since Daniel went to Babylon. 00:05:59.039 --> 00:06:00.379 And Nebuchadnezzar is dead. 00:06:00.500 --> 00:06:01.839 He died in 562. 00:06:02.620 --> 00:06:08.099 And this king that we read about, Belshazzar, is the fourth successor to Nebuchadnezzar. 00:06:08.199 --> 00:06:13.579 So in the passage, verse 22, Daniel refers to Belshazzar as the son of Nebuchadnezzar. 00:06:13.739 --> 00:06:16.199 But that's just an ancient Near Eastern way of saying successor. 00:06:16.199 --> 00:06:20.139 He's not related, actually, biologically to Nebuchadnezzar. 00:06:20.919 --> 00:06:22.839 So three kings have already passed. 00:06:23.319 --> 00:06:24.619 And here we are with Belshazzar. 00:06:24.779 --> 00:06:26.579 He's been ruling for six years. 00:06:27.359 --> 00:06:33.419 And you remember, if you were here with us, Daniel 2, Nebuchadnezzar had a vision, a dream. 00:06:34.179 --> 00:06:38.579 And he saw this statue of gold and silver and bronze and iron. 00:06:39.279 --> 00:06:42.959 And Daniel had told him, Nebuchadnezzar, your kingdom's the gold kingdom. 00:06:42.959 --> 00:06:44.599 But there's a silver kingdom coming. 00:06:44.819 --> 00:06:45.799 Your kingdom's going to end. 00:06:45.800 --> 00:06:51.040 And you will not build this thousand-year empire that you thought and your pride and your glory that you would. 00:06:51.579 --> 00:06:52.280 Here's the story. 00:06:52.600 --> 00:06:58.000 This is when Persia takes the city of Babylon, 539 B.C. 00:06:58.860 --> 00:07:03.379 And from chapter 4 to chapter 5, that means there's a 23-year gap. 00:07:03.839 --> 00:07:08.160 So when you're reading it, remember the Bible was not written with chapters and verse numbers or anything like that. 00:07:08.540 --> 00:07:18.560 And so when you're reading chapter 4 right into chapter 5, there's a—in between the end of the final word of chapter 4, the first word of chapter 5, 23 years has taken place. 00:07:18.560 --> 00:07:22.240 But as a reader, of course, you don't experience that when you read it. 00:07:22.800 --> 00:07:27.540 And that's really important to notice because that's part of the point of the passage. 00:07:27.720 --> 00:07:33.579 And that's that there's two big literary devices back to early school grammar, right? 00:07:33.819 --> 00:07:38.939 Two literary devices that are at work here that you've got to see to really feel the weight of the story. 00:07:39.259 --> 00:07:40.600 One is juxtaposition. 00:07:40.600 --> 00:07:47.640 So chapter 4 and chapter 5 are being juxtaposed, as David mentioned in the welcome today. 00:07:47.980 --> 00:07:50.760 Two different kings struggling with pride. 00:07:51.439 --> 00:07:52.220 Two different responses. 00:07:52.780 --> 00:07:54.320 It's a compare and contrast story. 00:07:55.240 --> 00:07:59.540 But then at the same time, the other literary device that really highlights that, I've mentioned it a couple times, 00:07:59.540 --> 00:08:03.660 is that from chapter 2 to 7, the text is not in Hebrew. 00:08:03.840 --> 00:08:04.580 It's in Aramaic. 00:08:04.840 --> 00:08:08.900 One of the only places in the Old Testament where you don't have Hebrew, the original language, 00:08:08.899 --> 00:08:11.479 but you have a different language, the Babylonian language. 00:08:12.339 --> 00:08:17.279 And it's another literary device that's not as commonly known as juxtaposition. 00:08:17.399 --> 00:08:18.120 That's chiasm. 00:08:18.919 --> 00:08:20.179 Okay, chiasm, what is that? 00:08:20.259 --> 00:08:25.439 It's when you have a structure, something like A, B, C, C, B, A. 00:08:25.899 --> 00:08:30.500 So if you've read the wonderful book, Julia Donaldson's The Gruffalo, 00:08:31.060 --> 00:08:32.899 you've read a great chiasm story. 00:08:33.779 --> 00:08:37.360 In The Gruffalo, mouse meets, what is it? 00:08:37.360 --> 00:08:38.220 I'm trying to remember. 00:08:38.419 --> 00:08:39.639 Fox, owl, snake. 00:08:39.840 --> 00:08:41.060 I've read it a thousand times. 00:08:41.720 --> 00:08:42.480 I have five kids. 00:08:43.419 --> 00:08:45.759 Mouse meets fox, owl, snake. 00:08:46.519 --> 00:08:47.720 Snake, owl, fox. 00:08:47.879 --> 00:08:48.460 That's the story. 00:08:48.539 --> 00:08:49.080 That's a chiasm. 00:08:50.279 --> 00:08:57.159 Chapter 2 corresponds to chapter 7, chapter 3 to chapter 6, chapter 4 and 5. 00:08:57.879 --> 00:08:58.560 They're corresponding. 00:08:58.919 --> 00:08:59.700 They're the very center. 00:09:00.220 --> 00:09:03.659 Chiasms try to get you to find middles and focus on them. 00:09:03.659 --> 00:09:06.500 Here's the middle, and it's about the pride of kings. 00:09:06.639 --> 00:09:11.319 And so we see that this book about idolatry that we've been working through is really about pride. 00:09:12.139 --> 00:09:17.480 And we saw that last time with Nebuchadnezzar, but here we come again to the same issue, but a different response. 00:09:17.559 --> 00:09:19.120 So that's the basic point. 00:09:19.600 --> 00:09:20.319 Compare and contrast. 00:09:20.559 --> 00:09:23.120 See the response to pride in our hearts. 00:09:23.539 --> 00:09:24.839 And so let's look at that together. 00:09:25.539 --> 00:09:26.439 Spiritual cancer. 00:09:27.480 --> 00:09:27.879 Pride. 00:09:27.879 --> 00:09:27.960 Pride. 00:09:28.340 --> 00:09:30.659 It's a spiritual cancer at the bottom of our souls. 00:09:31.799 --> 00:09:34.500 It's being juxtaposed between these two chapters. 00:09:34.840 --> 00:09:36.500 Are you Nebuchadnezzar or Belshazzar? 00:09:37.879 --> 00:09:41.620 And let's see it through the lens of two different answers to pride. 00:09:42.019 --> 00:09:43.860 How pride blocks repentance. 00:09:44.379 --> 00:09:46.379 Secondly, and finally, the writing on the wall. 00:09:47.299 --> 00:09:51.899 So first, two different answers to the problem of pride. 00:09:51.899 --> 00:10:03.559 And Belshazzar, his name is very similar to Daniel's Babylonian name, Belteshazzar, which basically just means Bel, this Babylonian god, is my king or my god. 00:10:04.079 --> 00:10:08.000 So he's a pagan king, and he throws a great feast in verse 1. 00:10:08.879 --> 00:10:09.840 A thousand lords. 00:10:10.399 --> 00:10:18.120 He takes the vessels, the cups, the bowls from the temple in Jerusalem, the true God's temple that Nebuchadnezzar had stolen. 00:10:18.120 --> 00:10:21.060 And during this great feast, he drinks wine from them. 00:10:21.259 --> 00:10:28.860 And it says, doing that, the fingers of a hand appear right on the wall a message that he cannot read, that nobody can read. 00:10:28.960 --> 00:10:29.940 But it's a message of judgment. 00:10:31.120 --> 00:10:38.700 And this is where we get, even if you've never read the Bible before or never read the book of Daniel, this is where we get the idiom in English, the writing on the wall. 00:10:38.879 --> 00:10:39.919 Right here, Daniel 5. 00:10:40.679 --> 00:10:44.580 And Daniel then comes and interprets what is taking place here. 00:10:44.580 --> 00:10:48.500 And he does not, and this is key, he doesn't just translate the message. 00:10:48.600 --> 00:10:49.700 He doesn't just interpret it. 00:10:50.100 --> 00:10:54.340 He first tells a story, and the story that he tells is the story of Nebuchadnezzar. 00:10:54.620 --> 00:10:56.700 So you see that in verse 17 and following. 00:10:56.879 --> 00:11:04.500 Starting in verse 18, he says, let me interpret this for you, Belshazzar, but first you need to remember the story of Nebuchadnezzar. 00:11:05.060 --> 00:11:06.500 So he takes us back to Daniel 4. 00:11:07.480 --> 00:11:08.139 And what does he say? 00:11:08.180 --> 00:11:12.740 He said, the most high God, the real God, gave Nebuchadnezzar everything. 00:11:12.740 --> 00:11:14.680 It was all a gift. 00:11:15.060 --> 00:11:17.360 His kingdom, his glory, his wealth, it was all a gift. 00:11:17.740 --> 00:11:19.299 Nebuchadnezzar did not acknowledge that. 00:11:19.919 --> 00:11:21.259 And his heart became proud. 00:11:22.060 --> 00:11:26.919 And in a moment where he stood over the city, he said, this is all because of my glory. 00:11:27.720 --> 00:11:31.779 And we learned, we saw that a couple weeks ago, and we saw what pride really is. 00:11:31.860 --> 00:11:34.720 Pride is saying, my life is my own. 00:11:35.500 --> 00:11:38.340 Every good thing that I have in my life is because of me. 00:11:38.340 --> 00:11:43.720 Every bad thing that's happening in my life is because I'm not getting what I deserve. 00:11:44.340 --> 00:11:45.420 It's because of somebody else. 00:11:46.220 --> 00:11:49.259 And so pride is the self-inflated high ego. 00:11:49.780 --> 00:11:54.560 And it's so inflated that it's like blowing up a balloon too far. 00:11:55.080 --> 00:11:58.100 You know, if you blow up a balloon too much, it will just pop. 00:11:58.160 --> 00:11:58.960 And pride is like that. 00:11:58.960 --> 00:12:08.820 The heart is blown up to the point where one little criticism, one event can just be the final little prick that undoes the prideful person, the prideful heart. 00:12:09.100 --> 00:12:10.840 It's really fragile, in other words. 00:12:11.600 --> 00:12:12.860 And what happened? 00:12:14.060 --> 00:12:18.180 Nebuchadnezzar was given by God what he deserved and what he wanted. 00:12:18.400 --> 00:12:21.639 In other words, if you try to be more than a human being, you become less. 00:12:22.259 --> 00:12:22.960 And he was dehumanized. 00:12:23.540 --> 00:12:24.740 He became a beast of the field. 00:12:24.740 --> 00:12:30.340 But then Daniel says to Belshazzar, remember Nebuchadnezzar looked up. 00:12:30.700 --> 00:12:32.500 And then the text says he knew. 00:12:32.820 --> 00:12:34.740 And that's code for he repented. 00:12:35.820 --> 00:12:38.659 And God restored him and God changed his life from the inside out. 00:12:38.779 --> 00:12:41.879 God, we saw last time, God loves to redeem prideful people. 00:12:42.379 --> 00:12:44.340 He loves to rescue us from our pride. 00:12:44.480 --> 00:12:51.139 And I wonder how many people in here today, again, want to be rescued from walking into every room and thinking about themselves. 00:12:51.639 --> 00:12:52.799 I want to be rescued from that. 00:12:52.799 --> 00:12:55.899 And here's the juxtaposition. 00:12:56.139 --> 00:12:59.559 Here's where the core of the text, the story, it's in verse 22. 00:13:00.279 --> 00:13:01.759 He tells Nebuchadnezzar's story. 00:13:01.859 --> 00:13:10.059 And then he says, and you, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though, here's the devastating line, though you knew all this. 00:13:11.659 --> 00:13:14.459 You knew what God requires of you. 00:13:14.519 --> 00:13:17.779 You knew what God had done in the story of redemption in Nebuchadnezzar's life. 00:13:17.779 --> 00:13:19.579 But you never humbled your heart. 00:13:20.419 --> 00:13:24.220 And that very night he died because of the pride of his heart. 00:13:24.559 --> 00:13:25.879 This is a warning passage. 00:13:26.139 --> 00:13:31.519 St. Augustine says the prideful person loves to be praised but never to be examined. 00:13:31.519 --> 00:13:39.019 And this is a passage that's really asking you, if you were here two weeks ago or today, we've just rehearsed the story of Nebuchadnezzar. 00:13:39.939 --> 00:13:51.720 Did you take the story of Nebuchadnezzar and allow it, let God examine you and look down to the bottom of your soul and say, Lord, rescue me from my pride. 00:13:51.720 --> 00:13:52.779 Did you do that work? 00:13:53.840 --> 00:13:54.680 Did you repent? 00:13:54.980 --> 00:13:56.660 That's the question of chapter 5. 00:13:56.980 --> 00:14:05.300 Because chapter 5 is a warning passage of the fall of a man who knew everything of the story of Nebuchadnezzar's redemption but ignored it. 00:14:05.440 --> 00:14:06.360 But did not repent. 00:14:06.639 --> 00:14:08.879 But did not confess his pride before the Lord. 00:14:09.639 --> 00:14:10.620 What does that mean? 00:14:11.259 --> 00:14:12.379 We can say it really quickly. 00:14:12.639 --> 00:14:13.279 What is repentance? 00:14:13.420 --> 00:14:19.259 Repentance is something like agreeing with God that you are a sinner. 00:14:19.259 --> 00:14:28.340 A sinner of saying with God, yes, I'm measured, I'm weighed, and the conviction that you're putting, it's true of me. 00:14:28.860 --> 00:14:34.799 And then turning outside of yourself to look for rescue and look for hope and look for redemption away from your internal resources. 00:14:35.919 --> 00:14:37.799 And that's what Belshazzar fails to do. 00:14:37.799 --> 00:14:45.899 So, secondly, that means that this is a story about how our prideful hearts can block repentance in our lives. 00:14:45.899 --> 00:14:49.259 And have we really examined ourselves and looked at that carefully? 00:14:49.539 --> 00:14:51.559 Let me give you three ways that can take place, secondly. 00:14:52.340 --> 00:14:54.939 Remember, verse 22 and 23 is the real key. 00:14:55.919 --> 00:15:00.299 You knew the story of your predecessor, but you ignored it. 00:15:01.000 --> 00:15:06.419 And he teaches us here a few ways of how pride can get in the way of a repentant life. 00:15:06.419 --> 00:15:10.839 And here's, we could ask it like this, okay, tell me how, Daniel. 00:15:10.959 --> 00:15:13.839 Tell me how this works exactly in Belshazzar's life. 00:15:13.879 --> 00:15:15.919 And here he says, you knew all this. 00:15:16.559 --> 00:15:17.419 You knew the story. 00:15:17.579 --> 00:15:18.039 What did he know? 00:15:18.120 --> 00:15:22.059 He knew, first, the story of redemption. 00:15:22.799 --> 00:15:24.360 We call that special revelation. 00:15:25.519 --> 00:15:28.719 God's unveiling of himself in history to save us. 00:15:28.759 --> 00:15:30.000 That's special revelation. 00:15:30.000 --> 00:15:37.159 But then, down in verse 23, it says, also you ignored the God in whose hand is your breath. 00:15:37.940 --> 00:15:41.179 So, he said, but also God had revealed himself to you generally as well. 00:15:42.080 --> 00:15:44.299 That your very breath is in God's hands. 00:15:44.340 --> 00:15:45.240 And you ignored that too. 00:15:45.940 --> 00:15:53.340 So, in other words, he's saying God revealed himself specially and generally, redemptively and commonly to you, Belshazzar. 00:15:53.480 --> 00:15:55.500 But in both instances, you didn't pay attention. 00:15:55.659 --> 00:15:56.340 You didn't look for it. 00:15:56.399 --> 00:15:58.480 You ignored it. 00:15:58.600 --> 00:15:59.240 And what do we learn? 00:15:59.240 --> 00:16:07.860 We learn, first, that the prideful person, the prideful heart, knows God, yes, truly, absolutely, but ignores God. 00:16:09.279 --> 00:16:11.399 And that, this is Psalm 14. 00:16:11.500 --> 00:16:16.659 Psalm 14 talks about the fool, but it uses the word fool in a technical sense. 00:16:16.980 --> 00:16:24.759 So, it's not calling somebody a fool in a pejorative way or a critical way, but actually calling out the truth of what foolishness is. 00:16:25.360 --> 00:16:28.519 And it says, the fool says in their heart, there is no God. 00:16:28.519 --> 00:16:33.740 And so, in the Bible and in this story, there is no such thing as theoretical atheism. 00:16:35.120 --> 00:16:37.059 Theoretical atheism is intellectual atheism. 00:16:37.699 --> 00:16:40.720 It says there is no God by way of reason, logic, science. 00:16:40.720 --> 00:16:45.100 But it's saying that actually doesn't exist because we all know God. 00:16:45.200 --> 00:16:48.440 God has revealed himself specially, redemptively. 00:16:48.600 --> 00:16:50.820 It's written in scripture, but also generally, commonly. 00:16:51.580 --> 00:16:54.259 And the issue is not theoretical atheism. 00:16:54.360 --> 00:16:55.360 It's practical atheism. 00:16:56.240 --> 00:16:57.060 It's an issue of the heart. 00:16:57.300 --> 00:16:58.399 We ignore it. 00:16:58.460 --> 00:17:00.620 Our prideful hearts, we ignore God's revelation. 00:17:00.620 --> 00:17:02.399 And what does Romans 1 say? 00:17:02.480 --> 00:17:05.680 We suppress that truth in unrighteousness. 00:17:05.799 --> 00:17:11.960 And this really is a story in the Old Testament that teaches the truth of Romans 1, 18 and following. 00:17:12.460 --> 00:17:15.400 That we all know God, but we've suppressed that truth in unrighteousness. 00:17:15.980 --> 00:17:18.160 Our pride, very simple first. 00:17:18.759 --> 00:17:23.539 Our pride causes us to ignore God, even though he really has revealed himself. 00:17:23.539 --> 00:17:24.680 Are you? 00:17:27.399 --> 00:17:34.139 Are you suppressing the revelation of God that has been spoken into this world and history in your very life? 00:17:34.720 --> 00:17:37.379 It is God who's giving us life and breath. 00:17:37.980 --> 00:17:40.559 But are we pushing that down and suppressing that in our lives? 00:17:41.279 --> 00:17:42.579 And ultimately ignoring him? 00:17:42.879 --> 00:17:45.960 That's the first question of the heart in this passage. 00:17:46.079 --> 00:17:49.119 Am I suppressing the truth of his revelation in my life? 00:17:49.119 --> 00:17:56.059 Secondly, the prideful person also, the prideful person, the prideful heart is not repentant. 00:17:56.099 --> 00:17:56.779 We've seen that. 00:17:57.059 --> 00:17:59.159 But yet is very religious. 00:18:00.339 --> 00:18:01.819 All right, so back to the party. 00:18:01.959 --> 00:18:03.459 Back to the feast that gets thrown here. 00:18:04.359 --> 00:18:05.139 What does he say? 00:18:05.379 --> 00:18:08.159 You do all this, but you ignored it. 00:18:08.679 --> 00:18:10.839 And then Daniel goes on to explain that. 00:18:10.939 --> 00:18:11.739 Verse 23, he says, 00:18:11.739 --> 00:18:15.000 You instead lifted yourself up against the Lord. 00:18:15.119 --> 00:18:15.399 How? 00:18:15.400 --> 00:18:15.480 How? 00:18:15.960 --> 00:18:22.000 By bringing in the vessels from Jerusalem and drinking wine out of those vessels from the temple in Jerusalem. 00:18:22.780 --> 00:18:23.940 All right, what is he talking about? 00:18:24.019 --> 00:18:27.740 He's explaining how Belshazzar ignored God. 00:18:29.019 --> 00:18:30.380 Belshazzar threw a big party. 00:18:31.500 --> 00:18:33.460 A Dionysian feast, we might say. 00:18:33.600 --> 00:18:34.519 A big throwdown. 00:18:35.400 --> 00:18:38.360 And he's, from verse 1, he's drinking. 00:18:38.720 --> 00:18:43.100 And just notice, if you have the text out in front of you, look with me very quickly at verse 1 to 4. 00:18:43.860 --> 00:18:44.780 Notice the repetition. 00:18:46.300 --> 00:18:48.480 Before a thousand of his lords, he drank wine. 00:18:48.600 --> 00:18:49.220 Then verse 2. 00:18:49.640 --> 00:18:52.100 When he tasted the wine, he made a command. 00:18:52.620 --> 00:18:53.440 Then verse 3. 00:18:53.800 --> 00:18:58.019 Then they brought the golden vessels in, and he drank from those vessels. 00:18:58.120 --> 00:18:59.280 Drank wine from those vessels. 00:19:00.019 --> 00:19:00.800 And then verse 4. 00:19:00.960 --> 00:19:01.860 He drank wine. 00:19:02.640 --> 00:19:05.180 So four times he drank wine. 00:19:05.180 --> 00:19:06.700 And when he did that, he drank wine. 00:19:06.780 --> 00:19:08.180 And when he did that, he drank wine. 00:19:08.420 --> 00:19:09.280 What's going on here? 00:19:09.400 --> 00:19:10.360 This isn't just a party. 00:19:10.359 --> 00:19:13.959 That's a way of talking about liturgy. 00:19:14.839 --> 00:19:16.519 This is a ritual. 00:19:17.419 --> 00:19:19.539 This is a temple feast. 00:19:20.539 --> 00:19:22.699 What Belshazzar has done is he's created a temple. 00:19:22.700 --> 00:19:25.660 And he's created it in his own honor. 00:19:25.860 --> 00:19:27.700 And he's drinking wine liturgically. 00:19:28.700 --> 00:19:32.360 And he's got a thousand of his lords underneath him and his wives and his concubines. 00:19:32.440 --> 00:19:36.140 See, the reason he's gathered the whole kingdom is because this is a worship service. 00:19:36.940 --> 00:19:39.440 It's a party and a worship service at the very same time. 00:19:40.400 --> 00:19:50.040 And we learned that what he did was he took the vessels from Jerusalem, and he used them to actually drink to the gods of silver and gold and bronze, which means just himself. 00:19:50.100 --> 00:19:52.120 His wealth, his bounty, his glory. 00:19:52.500 --> 00:19:53.480 That's what's going on here. 00:19:54.700 --> 00:19:56.180 That means, what does Daniel say? 00:19:56.180 --> 00:19:59.700 He says, it's not just that he threw a great party. 00:20:00.220 --> 00:20:01.360 It's not just that he got drunk. 00:20:01.359 --> 00:20:15.199 It's that when he went and got the vessels from Jerusalem and used them to worship the gods of gold, silver, and bronze, he was actively contending, mocking the real God. 00:20:15.379 --> 00:20:16.039 He knew. 00:20:16.579 --> 00:20:18.240 He knew about the real God. 00:20:18.819 --> 00:20:24.240 And he was actively mocking him, spitting in his face and saying, I reject you. 00:20:24.559 --> 00:20:29.479 I choose to self-justify with gold and silver and bronze, with iron, with my wealth. 00:20:29.480 --> 00:20:31.740 He said, in other words, you are not my God. 00:20:31.860 --> 00:20:32.680 Wealth is my God. 00:20:32.799 --> 00:20:37.019 He was actively saying that to Yahweh, to the God of the Bible, to the God of the Old Testament. 00:20:38.360 --> 00:20:39.880 And that, look, what does that teach us? 00:20:39.900 --> 00:20:42.000 It teaches us the prideful heart. 00:20:43.880 --> 00:20:45.480 We are never neutral people. 00:20:45.579 --> 00:20:46.680 We are always worshiping. 00:20:48.299 --> 00:20:50.259 We are very religious through and through. 00:20:50.620 --> 00:20:56.140 We always have an object of worship out in front of us Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. 00:20:56.140 --> 00:21:07.640 And you can know what that object of worship is in your life by asking, where am I putting my time and my talent and my money, my treasure, and giving myself, giving my stuff. 00:21:08.259 --> 00:21:10.759 It's an indication of what you're worshiping in your life. 00:21:10.900 --> 00:21:14.280 And we see that all of us, we know God, and therefore we are very religious. 00:21:15.120 --> 00:21:19.920 And even when we're suppressing that truth and unrighteousness, we still remain religious creatures. 00:21:19.920 --> 00:21:22.460 And this passage takes it a step further. 00:21:22.680 --> 00:21:36.480 It says that putting our worship, our time, our talent, our treasure, ultimately into anything but the real God, centering our lives on anything but the real God, is actually actively contending against God. 00:21:36.800 --> 00:21:37.779 It's fighting God. 00:21:38.460 --> 00:21:39.360 It's mocking Him. 00:21:39.920 --> 00:21:45.620 The God who made us and the God who gives us everything, our life and our breath, and offers us the hope of redemption. 00:21:45.619 --> 00:21:49.439 And what the passage does is it really highlights the story. 00:21:49.639 --> 00:21:52.099 It really shows the fragility of that position. 00:21:53.179 --> 00:21:54.139 Just think about it for a second. 00:21:55.619 --> 00:21:56.939 He's very prideful. 00:21:57.479 --> 00:22:01.059 He refuses and refuses to humble himself before the real God. 00:22:01.439 --> 00:22:09.119 It leads him to defiantly self-justify by saying, no, I worship gold and silver and bronze. 00:22:09.339 --> 00:22:10.479 That is my salvation. 00:22:10.879 --> 00:22:12.059 That is the point of my life. 00:22:12.139 --> 00:22:12.859 That is my meaning. 00:22:12.859 --> 00:22:22.799 And then as soon as the handwriting on the wall appears, just like Nebuchadnezzar in the dreams, the text in verse 6 says, his knees started knocking. 00:22:23.299 --> 00:22:24.539 So it's cartoonish. 00:22:25.379 --> 00:22:26.679 It's like Looney Tunes. 00:22:26.740 --> 00:22:27.899 His knees started knocking. 00:22:29.039 --> 00:22:38.139 As soon as one little poke, as soon as the real God shows up, the fragility of the things we chase is utterly exposed. 00:22:38.419 --> 00:22:39.439 And it makes us afraid. 00:22:40.719 --> 00:22:42.399 It's been the message of the entire book. 00:22:42.400 --> 00:22:43.820 We say it really every week. 00:22:43.860 --> 00:22:44.900 You're probably tired of hearing it. 00:22:45.620 --> 00:22:48.400 It's the same message week in and week out from this chapter. 00:22:48.580 --> 00:22:55.400 But this text takes it a little further because there's also a joke that you can't quite see in the English text. 00:22:56.100 --> 00:23:01.240 And the joke in this passage, the humor in this passage, is in that same line, verse 6. 00:23:01.300 --> 00:23:03.540 When it says, his knees were knocking. 00:23:03.539 --> 00:23:08.819 The phrase just before that and with that, in the Aramaic text, it's an idiom. 00:23:09.319 --> 00:23:13.720 And very literally, it's translated to, the knots of his loins were untied. 00:23:13.960 --> 00:23:17.200 The knots of his loins were untied. 00:23:17.200 --> 00:23:25.500 Now, to put that in the mildest public setting, what it's saying is that he had a bad tummy ache in that moment. 00:23:26.220 --> 00:23:30.420 And he's standing, and you see the joke, he's standing in front of a thousand lords worshiping himself, 00:23:30.920 --> 00:23:33.799 defiantly against the God who made him and gives him life and breath. 00:23:34.059 --> 00:23:38.100 And it says, the knots of his loins, the stomach, was undone. 00:23:38.099 --> 00:23:42.759 Utter humiliation in public here is what's happening. 00:23:42.879 --> 00:23:48.119 And then the queen mother, when she says, you should call Daniel, I remember him from of old. 00:23:48.159 --> 00:23:52.539 In verse 12, she uses the same phrase again to mock her son. 00:23:53.419 --> 00:23:56.599 She says, Daniel, he can solve puzzles. 00:23:56.699 --> 00:23:57.480 He can tell riddles. 00:23:57.599 --> 00:23:59.779 He can tell you the interpretation. 00:24:00.299 --> 00:24:03.719 And the language she uses is, Daniel can untie the knots. 00:24:03.720 --> 00:24:08.200 In other words, she's poking at him and saying, you've embarrassed yourself. 00:24:09.160 --> 00:24:13.519 And the point of that joke in Aramaic, I can't read Aramaic. 00:24:13.740 --> 00:24:16.240 There's maybe one person in this room who can, I don't know. 00:24:17.019 --> 00:24:19.120 But the commentators tell us this. 00:24:19.680 --> 00:24:27.140 The point of the joke is that, one, when the real God shows up in our lives, we are undone. 00:24:28.120 --> 00:24:29.600 He exposes our idols. 00:24:29.599 --> 00:24:36.199 He exposes the fragility of our position of putting anything else at the center of our lives but him. 00:24:36.639 --> 00:24:40.019 And the question today is, what are you worshiping? 00:24:40.480 --> 00:24:42.279 He worshiped gold, silver, bronze, iron. 00:24:42.399 --> 00:24:47.879 What are you worshiping in your life right now precisely because it does not challenge you? 00:24:48.939 --> 00:24:53.299 Precisely because that idol will never ask you to examine your heart. 00:24:54.679 --> 00:24:55.519 It's dead. 00:24:55.519 --> 00:25:05.960 And what are you choosing instead of the Lord that maybe because you say, I don't want to do the hard work, the painful work of self-examination. 00:25:06.960 --> 00:25:13.240 And looking at the heart of my pride and really asking, where is pride still holding on to parts of my heart? 00:25:13.400 --> 00:25:15.920 And really go through the pain of repentance. 00:25:15.920 --> 00:25:24.279 But boy, repentance is painful, but gold and silver and bronze cannot save you. 00:25:25.360 --> 00:25:26.800 But the real God can. 00:25:26.980 --> 00:25:29.420 And thirdly, finally in this point, and we'll move to the close. 00:25:30.920 --> 00:25:40.160 That leads us to see that the last way this warning passage, pride, a prideful heart will distract us from repentance, is precisely that distraction. 00:25:40.160 --> 00:25:40.279 Distraction. 00:25:41.960 --> 00:25:43.640 This may be the most important thing. 00:25:44.060 --> 00:25:44.500 Distraction. 00:25:45.820 --> 00:25:52.560 When you read this passage and you learn a little bit about the historical context, one of the things that's really important to know, 00:25:53.160 --> 00:26:00.940 but you can gather just from reading this chapter, is that by the end of the feast, we realize Persia is already in the city. 00:26:01.840 --> 00:26:03.759 The Persian soldiers are already there. 00:26:04.340 --> 00:26:07.980 They're actively coming for him while he's feasting. 00:26:07.980 --> 00:26:18.400 And a little bit of, we know this from Herodotus and other ancient Near Eastern sources, but Belshazzar had already lost. 00:26:18.819 --> 00:26:24.360 He had gone out of the city walls and fought Persia before this and had lost a great battle. 00:26:25.039 --> 00:26:27.680 His army in this scene has already been defeated. 00:26:29.059 --> 00:26:32.620 So what is this passage really, what's going on in his prideful heart? 00:26:32.680 --> 00:26:33.599 What does the prideful heart do? 00:26:34.279 --> 00:26:34.799 What is he doing? 00:26:34.799 --> 00:26:37.759 He knows, he knows he's about to die. 00:26:38.680 --> 00:26:43.360 He knows that the Persian soldiers, the assassins, are inside the city walls. 00:26:43.740 --> 00:26:47.000 We even know exactly how they did it from ancient Near Eastern sources. 00:26:47.559 --> 00:26:48.880 Only a few of them came through. 00:26:48.980 --> 00:26:53.680 They dug a portion of the river Euphrates out to get underneath the castle walls. 00:26:54.360 --> 00:26:56.059 And they came for him, and he knew they were coming. 00:26:56.880 --> 00:26:57.279 What is he doing? 00:26:57.339 --> 00:26:58.319 This is escapism. 00:26:59.339 --> 00:27:00.299 This is coping. 00:27:00.500 --> 00:27:01.620 Death is on his doorstep. 00:27:01.619 --> 00:27:04.559 And he chooses the Dionysian feast. 00:27:04.679 --> 00:27:13.559 But more than that, he chooses in the last moments to worship himself and to worship gold and silver and his wealth and his success, even though he knows it's all about to go away. 00:27:13.799 --> 00:27:14.579 It's all about to end. 00:27:14.759 --> 00:27:15.959 You see the defiance? 00:27:15.960 --> 00:27:22.360 In the last moment, he literally chooses to spit in God's face by drinking from the vessels. 00:27:22.819 --> 00:27:24.559 This is why the judgment comes in. 00:27:24.640 --> 00:27:26.380 This is not some random day. 00:27:26.500 --> 00:27:30.240 This is a lifetime of saying no actively to God. 00:27:31.000 --> 00:27:34.799 Romans 1 says that God actually gives us what we want. 00:27:34.799 --> 00:27:36.539 He gives us over. 00:27:37.899 --> 00:27:39.579 And you see, it's a warning passage. 00:27:40.759 --> 00:27:42.779 And death is on his doorstep. 00:27:43.279 --> 00:27:54.700 You know, we, friends, we feast on all sorts of things in our lives to cope so that sometimes we can avoid asking the biggest and hardest questions. 00:27:55.879 --> 00:27:58.139 And that's what this story is ultimately about. 00:27:59.079 --> 00:28:00.879 He's literally drinking himself to death. 00:28:00.940 --> 00:28:02.159 He's literally feasting to death. 00:28:02.159 --> 00:28:04.759 He's literally worshiping gold unto death. 00:28:05.799 --> 00:28:09.019 Let me give you one example of maybe how we do that. 00:28:09.899 --> 00:28:16.159 Neil Postman wrote the famous book in 1983, Amusing Ourselves to Death, Entertaining Ourselves to Death. 00:28:16.859 --> 00:28:23.419 And in it, he compared, he contrasted George Orwell's 1984 with Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. 00:28:24.220 --> 00:28:31.680 And he said that while George Orwell warned us of, you know, a police state, big brother, suppressing our lives, being the ultimate enemy, 00:28:31.680 --> 00:28:40.860 he said Huxley warned us of being consumed by entertainment to the point where we stop asking questions, stop seeking truth. 00:28:40.859 --> 00:28:47.579 And in 1983, Postman, boy, so prescient, so early, he said Huxley was right. 00:28:48.859 --> 00:28:54.339 And a recent book that's been published, Scrolling Ourselves to Death, Brett McCracken writes this. 00:28:54.339 --> 00:28:56.339 He said, 00:28:56.339 --> 00:28:57.959 He said, 00:28:57.960 --> 00:29:01.620 Think about the liturgy of our day-to-day lives, the worship of our day-to-day lives. 00:29:01.960 --> 00:29:04.980 Heads down, phones out, fingers scrolling. 00:29:05.519 --> 00:29:07.840 This is the humanoid posture of our age. 00:29:08.480 --> 00:29:11.579 Sit in the cafe, look around, every eye on a device. 00:29:12.220 --> 00:29:16.039 Wait in line at the store, 45 seconds to spare, a quick opportunity. 00:29:16.759 --> 00:29:23.319 Notice how hard it is to resist the urge to pull out your phone and to do something, anything, to fill that blank space. 00:29:23.319 --> 00:29:30.319 From the rising of the sun to its setting, we scroll through the day, we scroll through life, we are scrolling ourselves to death. 00:29:32.240 --> 00:29:37.039 Here's a question that I think this passage calls the modern reader to ask. 00:29:37.619 --> 00:29:40.299 Have I replaced seeking with consuming? 00:29:41.939 --> 00:29:46.419 Have I replaced self-examination with Instagram and TikTok and Facebook and YouTube? 00:29:47.099 --> 00:29:52.359 And have I become a person who says I'm going to look at one thing and loses an hour? 00:29:52.359 --> 00:30:00.079 And it happens again and again, every day, day after day after day, entertaining ourselves to death, consuming until we... 00:30:00.079 --> 00:30:07.559 We're in danger of the Dionysian consumption, of consuming until we find we never searched. 00:30:08.439 --> 00:30:14.459 Until that last day, we never looked, we never examined, we never did the hard work of looking and saying, 00:30:14.599 --> 00:30:15.879 Am I a sinner? 00:30:16.419 --> 00:30:17.879 Like the Bible calls me to see. 00:30:18.719 --> 00:30:20.759 What do you reach for when you feel convicted? 00:30:20.759 --> 00:30:23.200 Is it your phone to cope? 00:30:24.819 --> 00:30:25.900 What can we do? 00:30:26.839 --> 00:30:29.019 Is there hope for that virtual world? 00:30:29.940 --> 00:30:31.559 Belshazzar was living in a virtual world. 00:30:32.059 --> 00:30:32.779 It was fake. 00:30:33.619 --> 00:30:36.279 He was partying while the assassin was at his doorstep. 00:30:36.859 --> 00:30:37.480 What do we need? 00:30:37.559 --> 00:30:40.299 We need the writing on the wall, finally and briefly. 00:30:41.279 --> 00:30:43.480 The writing appears during the feast. 00:30:44.119 --> 00:30:48.099 The writing interrupts Belshazzar's suppression of the truth. 00:30:48.099 --> 00:30:55.139 The writing touches his heart and brings the fragility of his life to bear on him. 00:30:55.599 --> 00:30:56.359 And the writing was, 00:30:56.480 --> 00:30:58.480 Mene, mene, tekel, parson. 00:30:59.199 --> 00:31:02.980 And it probably wasn't written in words because those are Aramaic words. 00:31:03.059 --> 00:31:08.359 So if it was literally those words, the enchanters and the astrologers and the magicians would have been able to read that. 00:31:08.359 --> 00:31:12.699 Instead, it was probably numerical markings that needed an interpretation. 00:31:13.000 --> 00:31:21.119 Sometimes in the ancient world, numerical markings that looked to us sort of like scratches, things like that, would actually stand in the place of words. 00:31:21.379 --> 00:31:23.599 And they had to be interpreted by someone who understood. 00:31:24.459 --> 00:31:25.959 That's probably what's happening here. 00:31:25.960 --> 00:31:28.019 And what is the language? 00:31:28.319 --> 00:31:28.880 Measured. 00:31:29.460 --> 00:31:30.000 Mene, mene. 00:31:30.299 --> 00:31:30.860 Measured. 00:31:31.160 --> 00:31:31.579 Tekel. 00:31:32.039 --> 00:31:32.539 Weighed. 00:31:32.960 --> 00:31:33.340 Parson. 00:31:33.500 --> 00:31:34.000 Divided. 00:31:34.400 --> 00:31:35.240 And it's very simple. 00:31:35.360 --> 00:31:37.279 It's very plain what's going on here. 00:31:37.740 --> 00:31:38.559 And it's simply this. 00:31:40.240 --> 00:31:43.559 Belshazzar, who is an example of the human condition, all of us. 00:31:44.039 --> 00:31:48.319 You have been measured against the standard of who God made you to be. 00:31:48.319 --> 00:31:50.659 Against God's moral law. 00:31:50.939 --> 00:31:54.159 Against the calling to humble yourselves and give your life away to the Lord. 00:31:54.500 --> 00:31:55.259 You've been weighed. 00:31:55.599 --> 00:31:57.039 You've been found unjust. 00:31:57.879 --> 00:31:59.099 Your life is in the balance. 00:31:59.220 --> 00:32:00.240 The scales are out. 00:32:00.579 --> 00:32:02.639 And you've been found wanting and therefore divided. 00:32:02.759 --> 00:32:04.720 Your kingdom today will be divided. 00:32:04.839 --> 00:32:06.419 And that very night, it was divided. 00:32:08.639 --> 00:32:11.279 Nebuchadnezzar had the same experience. 00:32:12.939 --> 00:32:14.099 But he looked up. 00:32:14.919 --> 00:32:15.759 He awoke. 00:32:16.200 --> 00:32:16.899 He repented. 00:32:16.899 --> 00:32:17.819 What is repentance? 00:32:17.819 --> 00:32:24.599 Repentance is saying, I agree with you, God, about the condition of my heart. 00:32:24.700 --> 00:32:26.139 I agree with you about my sin. 00:32:26.399 --> 00:32:30.460 And I look outside myself for hope, for redemption, for salvation. 00:32:31.419 --> 00:32:36.439 Look, for us today, this passage is obviously a warning and an invitation. 00:32:37.220 --> 00:32:45.579 And the invitation is something like, if you don't think today that you need the work of repentance in your life, 00:32:45.579 --> 00:32:55.159 then that is the uncovering, the exposure of the fact that you are weighed, you are measured and divided. 00:32:55.160 --> 00:33:01.820 If you come today not realizing that need, then it's proof of the point of the warning. 00:33:01.819 --> 00:33:11.879 And what this passage is really calling us to see in every one of our lives is God saying, look at yourself and bear the conviction of your sin. 00:33:11.880 --> 00:33:15.700 Stand before the Lord and really look at your sin. 00:33:15.700 --> 00:33:16.780 Really look at it closely. 00:33:16.780 --> 00:33:19.720 The pride of your heart and say, Lord, I need you. 00:33:19.800 --> 00:33:20.820 I cannot save myself. 00:33:21.000 --> 00:33:23.980 He's not saying, look, he's not saying weighed and measured. 00:33:24.360 --> 00:33:27.280 Boy, you've got to get the scales of justice right in your life. 00:33:27.340 --> 00:33:29.820 You've got to put enough good works on that other side. 00:33:30.080 --> 00:33:32.960 If you would just, I'll give you another year and maybe you can get it right. 00:33:32.960 --> 00:33:36.900 No, he's saying that you've got to say today, I cannot fix this. 00:33:37.259 --> 00:33:38.380 There is no hope for me. 00:33:38.779 --> 00:33:39.440 What are we to do? 00:33:39.519 --> 00:33:41.880 Eric Alexander, this is the last word. 00:33:41.940 --> 00:33:49.140 Eric Alexander says, what will erase this divine graffiti on the wall? 00:33:49.799 --> 00:33:53.400 What will erase the divine graffiti on the wall of our hearts? 00:33:54.000 --> 00:33:55.740 Weighed, measured, found wanting. 00:33:56.440 --> 00:34:00.059 And the answer is in Colossians 2, verses 13 and 14. 00:34:00.759 --> 00:34:01.740 And here's what it says. 00:34:01.740 --> 00:34:07.579 It says, you were dead in your trespasses and sins. 00:34:07.980 --> 00:34:09.860 You were found wanting. 00:34:12.400 --> 00:34:16.280 And God canceled the record of your death that stood against you. 00:34:16.639 --> 00:34:17.960 This he set aside. 00:34:18.079 --> 00:34:18.719 He pushed it out. 00:34:19.039 --> 00:34:23.480 He pushed the scales away for you because he nailed it. 00:34:23.639 --> 00:34:25.000 He nailed your injustice to the cross. 00:34:25.099 --> 00:34:26.199 He nailed it to the cross. 00:34:26.980 --> 00:34:28.460 What is Paul saying to us? 00:34:28.460 --> 00:34:31.480 He's saying that Jesus Christ, the son of God, came into this world. 00:34:31.739 --> 00:34:32.919 And he was measured. 00:34:33.079 --> 00:34:33.719 He was weighed. 00:34:34.219 --> 00:34:35.439 And he was found righteous. 00:34:35.799 --> 00:34:37.099 Yet he was divided. 00:34:37.859 --> 00:34:40.059 Yet he was the one who experienced the death. 00:34:40.259 --> 00:34:44.279 Yet he was the one who was crushed for the injustice of our lives. 00:34:45.259 --> 00:34:46.819 He was sacrificed for our injustice. 00:34:46.820 --> 00:34:52.940 The message here of Daniel 4 and 5 together is God loves. 00:34:53.019 --> 00:34:54.340 He wants to give mercy. 00:34:54.720 --> 00:34:55.740 The answer is mercy. 00:34:56.519 --> 00:34:59.120 He doesn't say get your life right by balancing the scales. 00:34:59.480 --> 00:35:03.019 There is not enough humility to get you back to where you need to be. 00:35:03.240 --> 00:35:04.019 Not enough. 00:35:04.160 --> 00:35:05.120 You can't try it. 00:35:05.160 --> 00:35:06.500 You can't will yourself that way. 00:35:06.500 --> 00:35:10.739 No, he's saying God wants to shed mercy abroad in your life. 00:35:10.800 --> 00:35:16.219 And he wants to do it because he nailed the record of your debt to Jesus on the cross. 00:35:16.340 --> 00:35:17.820 He died for you. 00:35:19.420 --> 00:35:21.320 And so this is an invitation story. 00:35:22.199 --> 00:35:23.039 We're all Nebuchadnezzar. 00:35:23.119 --> 00:35:23.800 We're all Belshazzar. 00:35:23.880 --> 00:35:25.059 But will we be Nebuchadnezzar? 00:35:25.280 --> 00:35:25.940 Will we repent? 00:35:26.079 --> 00:35:26.739 Will we look up? 00:35:27.619 --> 00:35:28.880 Here's another way to say it. 00:35:29.340 --> 00:35:30.000 Come back tonight. 00:35:30.139 --> 00:35:31.719 We're going to celebrate the Lord's Supper. 00:35:31.719 --> 00:35:37.559 In the light of this story, this feast, God is inviting us today to a different feast. 00:35:37.779 --> 00:35:38.839 A very different feast. 00:35:39.239 --> 00:35:44.159 Not a feast where we take the gods in our lives to worship ourselves. 00:35:44.359 --> 00:35:50.559 But a feast where we look at the broken body and blood of the Savior, Jesus Christ. 00:35:51.299 --> 00:35:54.019 And say, he was measured. 00:35:54.299 --> 00:35:55.099 He was weighed. 00:35:55.359 --> 00:35:56.219 He was righteous. 00:35:56.419 --> 00:35:57.980 But he was divided for me. 00:35:59.779 --> 00:36:00.939 That's the mercy of the feast. 00:36:00.940 --> 00:36:04.460 The cross preaches a far better feast than Dionysian feasts like this. 00:36:05.539 --> 00:36:06.200 Let us pray. 00:36:06.400 --> 00:36:10.059 Father, we ask that you would make us repentant people. 00:36:10.679 --> 00:36:12.800 We plead for your mercy. 00:36:12.960 --> 00:36:14.400 We thank you that it is real. 00:36:14.539 --> 00:36:15.019 It is true. 00:36:15.400 --> 00:36:19.159 Your love is a reality through Jesus' cross. 00:36:19.320 --> 00:36:21.740 And so we pray, Lord, that we would examine ourselves today. 00:36:21.860 --> 00:36:26.539 Help us as we sing to examine ourselves and say, where are we holding on to pride in our lives? 00:36:26.880 --> 00:36:28.400 Maybe we've never repented, Lord. 00:36:28.440 --> 00:36:29.139 There's someone here. 00:36:29.139 --> 00:36:33.219 We pray that you would do your work now that you love to do. 00:36:33.539 --> 00:36:36.219 And that's bring a sinner home through repentance. 00:36:36.359 --> 00:36:37.539 And we pray that in Jesus' name. 00:36:37.940 --> 00:36:38.139 Amen.