Northside Church - Sydney
EXPATS Week 5: The Writing on the Wall
You're listening to another great message from Northside Community Church. This series on Daniel, what a great series. I've been enjoying this as Sam has walked us through the story of this amazing Old Testament character. And when I looked at the preaching schedule and saw that I was on tonight when we consider this passage of the writing on the wall, I was really stoked because I'm not sure if I've ever preached on this, but I've known this story for a long time. It's interesting talking with people during the week and a lot of you have not heard of this story or wasn't that you weren't aware that this was in the Old Testament. We're going to have some fun tonight because this is an amazing story which has an application directly to us in 2012. I've chosen the message tonight as the version that I'm going to read from. This is Daniel chapter 5 and it's the first 12 verses. King Bill Shazza is on the throne when all this takes place. So here it is. King Bill Shazza had a great feast for his 1,000 nobles. This guy on Facebook, he would have been right there, like 1,000 friends. The wine flowed freely. Bill Shazza, heady with the wine, now there's a phrase, heady with the wine. What if the gold and silver chalices his father Nebuchadnezzar had stolen from God's temple of Jerusalem, be brought in so that he and his nobles, his wives and concubines could drink from them. Concubines, one dictionary explanation has it as a secondary wife. There's a tactful way, a discreet way of putting a secondary wife. So there you go. When the gold and silver chalices were brought in, the king and his nobles, his wives and concubines drank wine from them. They drank the wine and drunkenly praised their gods made of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone. At that very moment, the finger or the fingers of a human hand appeared and began writing on the lamp illumined white washed wall of the palace. I love that detail. When the king saw the disembodied hand writing away, he went white as a ghost, scared out of his wits, his legs went limp and his knees knocked. Do you ever mean they're scared that your legs go limp and knees started knocking? He yelled out for the enchanters, the fortune tellers, the diviners, that's not the divinals, the diviners to come. He told these Babylonian magi, anyone who can read this writing on the wall and tell me what it means will be famous and rich, purple robe, the great gold chain, whatever that was, and be third in command of the kingdom. One after the other they tried but could make no sense of it, they could neither read what was written nor interpret it to the king. So now the king was really frightened. All the blood drained from his face, the nobles were in a panic. You notice there's no repentance here, there's no remorse, he's just trying to get an explanation and trying to get the party going again, no remorse whatsoever as far as we can tell. The queen heard of the hysteria among the king and his nobles and came to the banquet hall. And he said long live the king, give him what this lady beans for you to really have to doubt the sincerity of that statement, don't be upset, don't sit around looking like ghosts. There was a man in your kingdom who was full of the divine holy spirit, that's an interesting reference in the Old Testament. During your father's time he was well known for his intellectual brilliance and spiritual wisdom. He was so good that your father, King Nebuchadnezzar, made him head of all the magicians and charters, rich intelligence and diviners, there was no one quite like him. He could do anything, interpret dreams, solve mysteries, explain puzzles, his name is Daniel, but he was renamed Belty Shazza by the king. You'd have that wasn't by Deed Pole, I think I like Daniel better, I think I'd prefer that. Have Daniel called in, he'll tell you what is going on here, I really love that, he'll tell you what is really going on here. So here we are, King Bel Shazza, and the year is 539 B.C., a long time before Jesus. And Bel Shazza, the reigning king, decides to throw this wild party, which would make anything Craig Thompson is alleged to have done, looked very mild by comparison. This is a thousand friends, he has the sacred vessels brought in. Now, guys, there's a bit of the equivalent to one of the crime bosses of Sydney, I'm not going to name names, I like drive through, but not drive by. One of the crime bosses, throwing a huge party, and halfway through the party, well oiled with alcohol saying, hey listen, somebody get up there to the same Patrick's Cathedral. Let's just get, I don't do drunken very well, let's just, I'll give it to you straight. Let's get some of those chalices that they use there for communion, bring them back here, and we'll drink our wine from them tonight, how's that grab you? I mean, that would be outrageous, sacrilegious in the extreme, but that's what was happening on this particular occasion. And then of course, this is my favorite part, yeah, hand appears. Have we got any Indiana Jones fans in the audience tonight? Oh yeah, look, you remember the movie, the, let me just take the name of this one, it was the Raiders of the Lost Ark, remember that one? And there's a scene which I was going to show tonight, but the special effects are a bit corny compared to what's available today, but it's where they, they open the Ark, you know, I think it's a group of Nazis, it's always a group of Nazis with the Indiana Jones, a group of Nazis, and they open the Ark and things are going great for a while, it looks like they're just about to peer in to see what's in the Ark, and all of a sudden this very ominous cloud appears and starts swirling and starts engulfing the cave where they're opening the Ark, and all of a sudden joy and jubilation turns to fear and terror, and then a couple of them there like a bit like with them again, they're sitting with the blood drains from his face, well they had the, all their skin drains from their faces, and they just turn into skeletons, you know what I've seen? Very powerful, there's someone up the back there, it's a great Indiana Jones fan. Well, you know, I mean, that's, that's a bit like this scene, you know, they've gone from a while partying, all of a sudden to this is absolute sheer terror as this hand starts to write, and the message is clear, don't mess with God, that's the clear unmistakable message of the hand, you're getting into dangerous territory, every action produces a reaction, every sin has a consequence, I've just come from Adelaide visiting my grandkids down there, and I've become acutely aware of the usage of the word consequence with the modern parent, and my daughter is one of the modern parents, and so, over the weekend, you know, it was cadence, you did that, there'll be a consequence, and the consequence is usually the naughty corner or it's a little bit of withdrawal of privileges or something like that, you know, but there's always a consequence, in my day I was just a clip over the head, I didn't even get any warning, no warning at all, but now you get a warning, there's going to be a consequence, if you keep this behavior, so this is what, this is what's happening with, with Del Shather, he's getting a warning, there's going to be a consequence, and you know, guys, look, the Bible's very strong on this, you know, Romans 6, 23 says the wages of sin is death, it's unequivocal, you don't mess with God, ultimately, you know, there's going to be a day of reckoning, and in Galatians chapter 6 verse 7, have a look at this, one of the least known verses of the Bible, but it's very strong, do not deceive yourselves, no one makes a fool of God, you will reap exactly what you plant, I think one of the appeals of a passage like this one from Daniel 5, one of the appeals is that here's where the bad guy gets his just desserts, and you know, we kind of like that, let's be honest, deep down, we like that, some in the Old Testament, the clear pattern, some individual, some nation, they rise up against God's people, or they start acting in a way that's defiant and defiles God, and something happens, there's a flood, there's a plague, somebody's thrown to the lions, or they die some horrific death, you know, it's sort of a, it's very swift judgment, and so today of course, bad guys get elected to public office, today bad guys become CEOs of large companies, bad guys become union officials, bad guys become the leaders of children's armies in Africa, and they seem to get away with a lot, and sometimes we may secretly wish that bad guys were dealt with far more harshly, not allowed to get away with the things they seem to get away with, well in Old Testament times, justice was very swift, and it was very sure, in the case of Bill Shazar, this city which had been regarded as impregnable, it was a massive city, you can check it on Google, the ancient city of Babylon, they had one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, the hanging gardens of Babylon, it was an impregnable city but that night, it was penetrated by Bill Shazar's enemies and his life was taken, if only Bill Shazar, this guy with this strange name, if only he had the wisdom, if only he had the discernment, the insight, to understand that seeing the writing on the wall can prevent our backs from being up against it, up against the wall that is. Isn't that a truism in life? Isn't that a truism in life, when we find ourselves in the midst of a struggle, in the midst of a tough time, a time of challenge, a time of despair, often not always, but often we can trace our predicament back to a wrong decision, a poor choice, an ill-conceived plan, getting into the wrong crowd and we're inclined to say, you know what, I should have seen this coming, here I am really up against it, I should have seen this coming. Guys, over the years of my ministry, I have assisted a lot of scores and hundreds, I guess, of people in all sorts of pastoral situations because that's been my work, a pastor and I've had direct contact, face-to-face contact with literally hundreds and hundreds of people who found themselves with their backs against the wall and in many cases they've acknowledged they should have seen the writing on the wall, they should have seen it coming, I'm talking about people caught up in addiction, people caught up with financial problems, moral failure, family disputes, toxic relationships, the warning signs were there but they failed to heed them, friends and family tried to do a bit of writing on the wall, tried to give some counsel, tried to give some guidance, tried to give some help but that they've refused to listen and you know what, it could be, it could be that one of the most significant messages some of you get from tonight's message will be to heed the writing on the wall, you know deep down that there are consequences for what you're currently involved in, maybe they're friends, maybe they're loving parents who are trying to guide you, trying to assist you, trying to help you see the writing on the wall, maybe one of the messages you need to take tonight is to heed the writing on the wall and to take stock of where you are and what you're doing and what you're involved in, one of the unmistakable features of this incident is to make sense of the writing on the wall they called on the expat, I really like that, they called on the expat, when the king's regular supply of fortune tellers and tarot card readers and psychics could not explain the writings the queen suddenly arrives, verse 10, isn't it interesting that she hadn't been part of the reverie, I mean this is the number one wife, this is the queen, he had other wives, other concubines, this guy's really you know he's quite a player this guy, but she suddenly enters and she says there's a guy in the kingdom who was a legend in your father's time, I mean this guy and I love the way the message says it, full of the divine holy spirit, there's a reference you don't get very often in the Old Testament, this is before Pentecost, full of the divine holy spirit, he'll tell you what's going on, oh I love that, he'll tell you what's going on, and what's the interpretation, it's grim, it's ominous, Daniel stands before the king as a man of great courage, that's what we come used to Daniel with these courageous acts right through this series and here's the message, bell shazzy your days are numbered, you've been sound way, oh rather you've been weighed and found wanting, it is not a sad indictment on somebody's life, they've been weighed morally, weighed in the area of integrity, weighed in the area of uprightness, weighed in the area of honesty and found wanting, gosh there's a comment on so many people in our world today, many of whom are in leadership roles, weighed in the balance, found really lacking, really wanting, and then the final part of the message your kingdom is about to be destroyed, he'll tell you what's going on, guys for today here's the message, one of the most powerful ways you and I as expats in a foreign land, this theme that Sam has developed so powerfully and so cleverly, you and I as expats in a foreign land, one of the ways we can have our most powerful impact is just being true to who we are as Christians, being real, being available, being a little vulnerable, being in touch with what's happening in the lives of people and then when the need arises often people will call upon us to find out what's going on, has that been your experience? Certainly was my when I was back in corporate life when I had a real job back in BP Australia and I had my own ways of subtly indicating who I was, some of you know the one I've told you before I used to whistle praise songs, just to flush out the other Christians, get a little bit of support and over the round of water cooler somebody would say, listen, when you whistling what I thought you were whistling and I'd say what do you think I was whistling? Well, kind of sound like a song we sing down at St Chad's or something, that's right, that's a worship song, are you a Christian? Oh yeah, keep a damn mate, well listen, hey I am too, why don't we work together and start praying with this officer, let's see what can happen here, you know, and just very, you know, subtly, just building relationships and getting to really be serious and seer and real with people, I can't tell you the number of times over the years when other guys come to me to talk about their wayward kids, talk about their marriage problems, talk about their feelings of inadequacy, talk about the difficulties they're having, you know, Graham, you know about this kind of stuff, you know, you're a hero, those churchy guys, don't you know, what's going on here, you know, not always in those sort of woods, but you know, you're building relationships and it's the people of God often who in the midst of a crisis can tell you what's going on, why, because we're dealing with the big issues of life, we're dealing with just beyond the party scene, beyond the wild aspects of modern day life, we're dealing with the real issues, we're dealing with purpose, we're dealing with meaning, we're dealing with with how to build strong and lasting relationships, we're dealing with truth, trust, integrity, we'll tell you what's going on if we're real, they won't ask us if we're, if we're just going to trot out a whole bunch of Bible verses and act in a very pious way, well if you didn't get to Jesus on you, you wouldn't be saying, oh you know, like hello, you've got to be real and you've got to build, you've got to start where people are, well I really love that about Daniel, he'll tell you what's going on, guys that's one of the most powerful ways we can infiltrate this foreign land, we sometimes find ourselves in as expats, you know what this incident in Daniel 5 it describes a stunning, awesome demonstration of God giving a message, any time he's done it in the Old Testament, writing on the wall, wow, powerful, but the circumstances required it, don't mess with God, now it's not the only time God has made a powerful point through writing, if you haven't already thought of it, let me take you straight to John 8 and John 8, Jesus finds himself in a predicament, a lady is flung before him in the dust and the Pharisees who fling this lady before him say, ah-ha Jesus we've got you now, this lady has been caught in the act of adultery, one of the greatest sins we can commit here in Judaism, now the Old Testament says she must be stoned, what do you say, oh great one, you who claims to be a prophet, you who claims to be the Messiah, what do you say, our law says stoned her, what do you say, remember the scene, it's very powerful John 8, let me remind you of exactly what Jesus did, they said this to trap Jesus so that they could accuse him, but he bent over, what's this, and wrote on the ground with his finger, and they stood there asking him questions, he straightened up and said to them, whichever one of you has committed no sin may throw the first stone at her, and then he bent over again and wrote on the ground, when they heard this they all left one by one, the older one first, Jesus was left alone with a woman still standing there, he straightened up and said to her, where are they, is there no one left to condemn you, and in humility, and I believe repentance, he said no one sir, well then said Jesus, I do not condemn you either, go, but do not sin again, second time of writing of the hand of God, see there's a big difference though, although there are some similarities, like Bill Shazza, like Bill Shazza in her own way, she had her time of pleasure, but they came the moment of reckoning, and there were those who wanted swift justice with this lady, they're just stoner right now, that's what the word says, unlike Bill Shazza, who remained defiant to the end, no sign of repentance, no sign of remorse, unlike her, this girl I believe, and Jesus wouldn't have responded to her in the way he did, unless there was genuine repentance, genuine remorse, and so that's what we've got with her, what a contrast in the two situations, best summed up I think in this way, Bill Shazza saw the writing, and was overwhelmed with fear, or by fear, he knew he'd gone too far, he made no attempt, no attempt to repent, he simply wanted an explanation, a quick fix so we could move on, in contrast the woman saw the writing, and was overcome by forgiveness, Jesus said, neither do I condemn you, go, but sin no more, it's not a cheap grace, I'm not going to forget about this, it's a serious thing, but go and let me remake your life, let me reshape your values, let me move in into your experience and make you into the person I know you are capable of becoming, that's conversion, the big difference of course is grace, did grace abound in the Old Testament, yes there are many instances, but did Jesus introduce a whole new level of grace, yes he did, you've heard it said, and I fornite a tooth for a tooth, but I say unto you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, it was a whole new, it wasn't a new God, it was just a new understanding, God's message in the Old Testament hadn't quite got through, I'm not talking about God A, God B, it's the same God, but it was like the sun was rising, just slowly rising over the landscape in the Old Testament, they just got a glimpse of what God was like, even the most in touch men and women of God, just got a glimpse of what he was really like, but when the sun, S-O-N, rose in the sky, then the picture was fully revealed, you've heard it said, but I say unto you, a whole new dimension of grace, guys I don't know which character you most identify with tonight, but there's a sense in which all of us get the writing on the wall, life's a bit like that, there are friends, there are people who care for us, who are always trying to get messages through, it's more often than not it's God trying to break through and say hey listen, I've got more in store for you than this, you don't have to settle for this, you don't have to exist at this level, see the writing on the wall, see the direction your actions are taking, you'd be worn, take heed, the bell shazz are unrepentant without remorse, pretty sad ending, he committed himself to the justice he received, but to the woman at the well, in repentance and regret and remorse, a brand new life, the writing on the wall, the writing on the sand for her, which many scholars believe was Jesus writing various sins, lust, greed, jealousy, and as each of the assembled Pharisees saw themselves in the sand one by one they left, we don't know for sure but it's a nice way of interpreting what may have been, what Jesus may have been written, what he may have been writing in the sand, I'm here to tell you tonight the grace of Jesus Christ knows no bounds, it doesn't matter where you've been, it doesn't matter what kind of wild activity you might have been involved in, whether you're going to identify with Bill Shazzar or not, or the woman taking an adult or not, whatever your background is that the grace of Jesus Christ is on offer tonight, it just requires a step of repentance, a step of faith and belief, Jesus I can't do this on my own, I need you in my life, to make me to the kind of person you say I'm capable of becoming, I want that for myself, I want that life, will you do that tonight, if you've drifted away will you come back tonight, will you see the writing on the wall before your back is up against it?