A New Beginning

Guest (Male): Pastor Greg Laurie says we need to make sure we're not living a lightweight form of Christianity. Today, he points out our faith needs to be robust, and it needs to be substantial.

Greg Laurie: When we get on a scale in general, we want to weigh less, not more, right? Well, that's not true of God's scales. When we get on God's scales, we want to be a heavyweight. We want our life to have substance and meaning and weight because of our relationship with God.

Greg Laurie: Be steadfast and immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. That was an exhortation from the Apostle Paul in First Corinthians. We do the work of the Lord, and we're to be steadfast and immovable. When the winds of change blow through our culture, we're to be solid as a rock.

Guest (Male): And today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie points out how to do that.

Greg Laurie: As we consider a man who showed us how not to do that, we're considering an epic failure in the Old Testament. Maybe a year or so ago, I went to the gym. Believe it or not, I go to the gym, okay? And they had this really fancy, high-tech machine. And the guy says, "Hey, Greg, I would like to do a test on you. No charge, it's free. We will measure you. We'll tell you what your body fat is. You know, you'll learn everything you need to know about where you're at right now physically." I said, "Free? Okay, let's do it."

And so, they measured me, my height, my weight, my body fat, et cetera. So right out of the gate, the guy asked me, "How tall are you?" I said, "I'm 5'10" and a half." He goes, "Oh," he measured me, he says, "You're actually 5'9" and a half." I said, "Wait, no, I am 5'10" and a half." "No, you aren't anymore." So I realized, "Oh, great. I've shrunk an inch."

And then he says, "And you're overweight." Great. So now I'm bald, I'm fat, and I'm shrinking. It's like that song says, I'm not half the man I used to be. I guess that's true. And my case, I thought, why am I gaining weight? And then I realized, I think I know the reason. It's something I discovered at the market not long ago. They're called Chica Chips.

Have you ever seen these? Okay, so these chips, they're very affordable. They're like $3.50 a bag. So I bought a bag and tried them. I thought, "These are good. They're like addictive." I ate the first one, then I ate two, then I ate three. Then I'm almost eating an entire bag. So I blame it on Chica Chips. So I said to my wife Kathy, "I have to stop buying these chips. They're evil chips. Don't let me buy them anymore."

But I was at the market not long after that with one of my granddaughters, and I grabbed a couple bags and put them in the basket. And she said, "Papa, why are you buying the evil chips?" Because I like them. Well, so I did a little post on Instagram about these chips, jokingly calling them the evil chips. And I got contacted by the Chica Chip company.

And they were very happy because I pointed out, I call them the evil chips only because I'm addicted to them because they're so good. And they thanked me, and as their way of saying thanks, they sent me a big box full of chips. And I didn't know this, they're a Christian company.

Greg Laurie: And I noticed that next to the little character, this little tortilla chip guy on the back, they have John 3:16 written there. I thought, "All right."

Audience: [applause]

Greg Laurie: So my wife says, "Why are you eating the evil chips?" I said, "They're not evil chips. They're Christian chips." And it is my responsibility as a Christian to support this company. But it didn't work out too well on the scale. So I've gone on this keto diet. Has anybody here tried the keto diet? You're really screaming for the keto diet. Okay, the keto diet is the greatest diet on earth for the first three days.

Because you can eat meat, you can eat cheese, you can eat fattening things, avoid carbs. But like literally after two days, I'm dreaming of carbs. I'm dreaming about pizza. And the worst kind of diet to be on is the keto diet and then eat carbs while you're on it, because now it becomes the weight gain diet. So, you know, when we get on a scale in general, we want to weigh less, not more, right?

Well, that's not true of God's scales. When we get on God's scales, we want to be a heavyweight. We want our life to have substance and meaning and weight because of our relationship with God. So we're going to look at a story now that you've probably heard before, and some of you maybe haven't, about a young man who happened to be the king of Babylon, who was weighed on God's scales, and this guy was the lightest of lightweights.

And this is the story where God wrote on the wall of the palace. You've heard that expression, "The writing is on the wall," right? This is where that expression came from. This is a story of Belshazzar, who was the grandson of King Nebuchadnezzar. So this king, we're going to look at in a moment, went out of his way to mock and attack God. And he faced the consequences.

Listen to this. It's never a good idea to mock God, because the Bible says, "Be not deceived, God is not mocked. Whatsoever a man sows, that will he also reap." Don't be a mocker of God. I used to mock Christians, because I didn't know any better. I thought they were crazy. I thought they were delusional, but I had to admit, they were pretty happy.

And so, as a 17-year-old kid, this is many years ago, I'm on my high school campus, I decided to eavesdrop on the Christians, and I started off looking at them with skepticism and sort of laughing at them. And for the first time, I heard what it was they were saying, and that was the day that I ended up believing. And so, this is what happens here.

Here's a guy who could not respond appropriately to the writing that was on the wall. And I think the writing is on the wall for our culture right now. You see it in the news feeds, you see it in events that are happening around the world. You see it in violence, random acts of violence. I was just talking with a police chief, and he was telling me, "Violent acts are up." I said, "Chief, I see these things on the news. Is it really that bad?" He says, "It is. More than ever."

It's hard for the police officers out there right now. And we, of course, have the continuing opioid crisis, and we continue to have conflicts over in the Middle East, and we continue to have just instability among the nations of the world, and the potential for war. We're literally seeing Bible prophecies being fulfilled before our very eyes, and the writing is on the wall.

So are we going to read it or are we going to ignore it? Are we going to pay attention to it? And here's what the writing said to young King Belshazzar, "Buddy, your number is up." And one day, your number is going to be up. And one day, my number is going to be up. And we don't know when that is.

Heard about a pastor that went to visit a man named John who was very sick. In fact, he was dying in the hospital. He couldn't even breathe, he needed an oxygen mask to assist him. Therefore, the pastor could not hear what he was saying. And his condition suddenly grew worse. And so the pastor dropped to one knee and began to pray fervently for John. And he could see John was trying to say something, but he couldn't speak because of the oxygen mask.

And the pastor gave John a pen and a piece of paper, and John scribbled something down, and tragically right there, John passed into eternity. So the pastor took that little note that John wrote and put it in the pocket of his coat and kind of forgot about it until a few days later, when he was doing the memorial service for John. And as he was getting ready to speak, it suddenly occurred to him, "John wrote me a note. These are actually his last words."

And without even reading it, he said to all the people assembled at John's funeral, "He wrote me a note. I'm sure it will inspire all of us." And he pulled it out and read these words, "Pastor, you're standing on my oxygen tube." It's a joke, people. There never was a guy named John dying in a hospital. It's a joke. Okay. Make a note, wait one second. Never use this joke again. People took it seriously and were traumatized and didn't really laugh. Okay, I got that.

It's all a joke. But there's going to be a day when we hear those final words, and we too will pass into eternity.

Guest (Male): Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment. Hearing about listeners who find Jesus because of Harvest Ministries is so encouraging. Almost 20 years ago, a friend invited me to a Bible study. A month later, I was invited to attend a Harvest Crusade in New York City. There, Greg Laurie gave an invitation to anyone who wanted to accept Christ. I went forward and prayed the prayer to give my life to Jesus. At that time, I didn't even know who Pastor Greg was, but during his message at the Harvest Crusade, Pastor Greg said it would be the best thing I would ever do for myself. And you know what? He was right.

If you've had your life changed because of Harvest Ministries, would you let Pastor Greg know? Just drop him an email: greg@harvest.org. Again, that's greg@harvest.org.

Guest (Male): Pastor Greg has highlighted the biblical account of the demise of Belshazzar. Today's message is titled, "The Writing is On the Wall."

Greg Laurie: A little background on Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar. So Nebuchadnezzar was the king of Babylon. He conquered Israel and brought them into captivity, back into this land that was filled with all kinds of false gods and idols. He was a very cruel king. In fact, he took the king of Israel and forced him to watch his own children be put to death before his very eyes. And then he gouged out the eyes of the king of Israel.

So this is a wicked man. This is an evil man. This is what you would probably think of as an unreachable man, but the prophet Daniel interpreted the dreams of King Nebuchadnezzar, and God ultimately humbled this powerful king, and he came to his knees, and he put his faith in God, and literally told his entire kingdom he was now a believer in the Lord God of Israel. It would be like if someone like Kim Jong Un of North Korea came to Christ and told everyone, "I'm a Christian now."

Or someone like Saul of Tarsus, who was a Christian killer, hunting down followers of Jesus, but the Lord got hold of him and transformed him into the Apostle Paul, one of the greatest preachers of all time. This is a reminder that no one is beyond the reach of God. Think of the most evil person you know. Maybe it's your mom or dad. Maybe it's a neighbor, maybe it's a co-worker, maybe it's somebody else. But whoever this person is, you can't even imagine them ever believing in Jesus Christ.

And I'm telling you right now, start praying for them and don't give up on them because no one is beyond the reach of God. God reached Nebuchadnezzar.

Audience: [applause]

Greg Laurie: So he told everyone he believed, but somehow this message did not get passed down to his son and ultimately to his grandson. So Nebuchadnezzar died, and his son ruled in his stead, and the name of his son was Evil Merodach. Who names their kid Evil Merodach? I mean, that kid ended up being a self-fulfilling prophecy. He lived up to his name.

People come up with really random names to name kids these days. I actually did a Google search, "Weird names that parents have given to their children." And these are all real names. None of these are made up. These are things that parents have literally named their kids. Starting with A B C D E. What kind of a name is that for a kid? At least they know the beginning of the alphabet.

How about this one, a real name, Arson? Do you really want your kid to live up to that name, Arson? Another child was named Bacardi. Why not Tequila? I mean, you're naming your child after booze? How about this one? They named their child Banana. Oh, that kid's going to have a great time in school, I guarantee it. Another child was named Brick. Brick?

Another child was named Burger. Another was named Chaos. Would you hang around with a kid named Chaos? "Yeah, it's going, my name is Chaos. Wanna go do something?" Not really. "Well, I've got my friend Arson here." I don't want Arson or Chaos. I want nothing to do with you. Here's another one I'm not making this up. Parents named their kid Gassy. That's just sad. Gassy.

Another kid was named Hashtag. Really? Another kid was named IKEA. Really? What about Target? I don't know. That would be really a bad name. But then another child was actually named Kale. Oh, that's really sad. Kale. No one will ever play with a child named Kale, because no one really wants to eat kale. They're forcing it on us, right?

Another child was named, I can't believe this, Netflix. Really? This her child, Netflix? We almost named him Amazon Prime or Hulu, but we went with Netflix instead. And then one kid was named Riot. Riot. "Hey, Riot, do you want to play with Chaos?" I mean, it's crazy. Two more. They named their child Quiche. Oh man, Quiche. And the final one, Velveeta. Velveeta, Quiche, and Burger, we're all going to play together. Gassy, you fit in here somewhere as well.

So Nebuchadnezzar named his son Evil Merodach. He lives up to his name, he turns out to be an evil person. And clearly, Evil Merodach did not pass that faith on to his grandson. Look, my son Jonathan is a pastor today. He's not a pastor because his dad's a pastor. He's a pastor because he put his faith in Christ. You have to make your own commitment to Christ. God doesn't have any grandchildren, just sons and daughters.

And the way you become a son or a daughter of God or a child of God is by receiving Christ. The Bible says for as many as received him, he gave them the power to become sons of God. So as Daniel 5 opens, we have the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar, the son of Evil Merodach, going out of his way to laugh everything off, and he went out of his way to mock and challenge God. Let's see how that went for him.

Daniel 5, starting in verse 1, I'm reading from the New Living Translation. "King Belshazzar had a great feast for a thousand of his nobles. He drank wine with them. And while Belshazzar was drinking the wine, he gave orders to bring in the golden and silver cups that his predecessor Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the Temple in Jerusalem." I'll just throw in a little detail. These cups and such were used for the worship of God.

"He wanted to drink from them with his nobles, his wives, and his concubines. And he brought these gold cups, taken from the Temple, the house of God, along with his kings and nobles, and they drank from them. And when they drank from them, they praised their idols made of gold, silver, and stone." So, he's going out of his way to laugh at that which God had set apart.

"Suddenly, they saw the fingers of a human hand writing on the wall of the king's palace near the lampstand. The king himself saw the hand as it wrote, and his face turned pale with fright. And his knees knocked together in fear, and his legs gave way beneath him." So it all starts when Belshazzar said, "I'm going to have a big party. And I'm going to show off all my cool stuff." Kind of like what guys do when another guy comes over to visit. "Come out to the garage and look at my stuff."

So that's Belshazzar. "Check out all of my stuff. Look at what we took from Israel. Look at all of these things." So he's going out of his way to make fun of God, and then the drinking begins. You know, drinking makes you do stupid stuff, doesn't it? I just read about a four-year study that determined the following, and I quote, "Young adults who drink frequently are more likely to show bad behavior, bad decision-making, and other patterns that their peers who don't drink show."

You needed a four-year study to reveal that? I could have told you that for free. You know, when you drink and you come under the influence of alcohol, this can really lead to some bad things, as it did in this story. They're worshipping these false gods, and they're breaking God's very law, and now they see a hand writing on the wall. Verse 5, "At that very moment, they saw the fingers of a human hand writing on the plaster wall of the king's palace."

So check it out. They're looking at the wall. There's a lamp lighting it, and they see this hand. They don't see the arm. They just see a hand writing this heavenly graffiti upon the wall. They, what is that? And they read it, and it was mysterious words, "Mene, Mene, Tekel, Parsin." So here's a man who had reached all of his goals.

This is a man who had checked all the boxes for success. He climbed to the top, and he found there was nothing there. Belshazzar was the most powerful and famous and wealthy man in all of the world. You know, a lot of people think fame is going to fill their soul. You know, if I can just get some more followers on Instagram or Twitter, you know, if I can just become more well-known.

I read a survey that said 81% of 18 to 25-year-olds said getting rich is their generation's most important goal. 81% getting rich is the most important goal. 51% said the same thing about being famous. My response is, "Careful what you wish for, you might get it." Actor and comedian Jim Carrey was quoted to say, "I hope everyone will one day get rich and famous, and they will have everything they ever dreamed of and know that is not the answer."

David Bowie of fame said, "Fame puts you where things are hollow." Amy Winehouse, who tragically died of alcohol poisoning at the peak of her fame, made this statement, "Fame is like terminal cancer. I wouldn't wish it on anyone." Justin Bieber posted on Instagram a while ago, "Hey world, that glamorous lifestyle you see portrayed by famous people on Instagram, don't be fooled into thinking their life is better than yours." End quote.

Careful what you wish for, because a lot of people get it, and they see how empty it is. Belshazzar had that and more, and he is terrified as he sees this writing on the wall. The smirk is gone. The defiance of God is gone. And now he is sobering up quickly.

Guest (Male): Pastor Greg Laurie pausing at a pivotal moment in the story of Belshazzar from Daniel chapter 5. And there's more to come as this message continues here on A New Beginning. But it's a good time for us to evaluate where we each stand before the Lord. Pastor Greg, what would you say to the person listening who just doesn't know if they're really a friend of God? They don't know if they're really a Christian. They can't think of a time when they made a deliberate decision for the Lord. It's just not a good idea to assume everything's going to work out okay, is it?

Greg Laurie: No, this is one area of your life you want to be sure about: where you're going to spend eternity. The Bible says, "These things we write to you that you may believe on the Son of God and that you may know that you have eternal life." Listen, I know I have eternal life. I know I'll go to heaven one day, and I hope that doesn't sound boastful. And if it does, I'm boasting in what God has done for me, not on what I've done for God.

The reason I know these things is because I've turned from my sin and I've put my faith in Christ, you see? And if you do the same, you can have the same hope. You just need to call out to the Lord and admit you're a sinner and ask Jesus Christ to forgive you and come into your life. The Bible says, "Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved."

Will you call upon Him right now? I'm going to pray a simple prayer, and I'm going to ask you to pray this prayer after me if you would. So if you want to know that you're going to heaven when you die, if you want to know for certain that Christ is living in your life, then pray this prayer with me. Just pray these words: Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner, but I know You are the Savior who died on the cross for my sin. I turn from my sin now, and I choose to follow You from this moment forward as my Savior and my Lord, as my God and my friend. Thank You for hearing this prayer. Thank You for answering this prayer. I ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Guest (Male): Amen. And listen, if you have just prayed that prayer with Pastor Greg and you've meant those words sincerely, the Lord has forgiven your sin and you're now a Christian. And we want to help you get started in this new life of faith. Let us send you Pastor Greg's New Believer's Bible. It's in an easy-to-understand translation, and there are scores of features to help a new believer build a solid foundation of faith. So get in touch and ask for the New Believer's Bible. We'll send it free of charge. Just call us at 1-800-821-3300. You can call anytime, 1-800-821-3300. Or go online to harvest.org and click "Know God."

Greg Laurie: Pastor Greg, we're so thankful for the work God is doing through this ministry.

Guest (Male): Yeah.

Greg Laurie: We're touching lives for eternity. And we're really thankful for our friends who see the fruit of this ministry and invest so this work can reach even further. Isn't that right?

Guest (Male): Absolutely. When you invest in Harvest Ministries, you're investing in the souls of men and women, boys and girls. And what is the value of a soul? Well, let me personalize it. What's the value of your soul? What's the value of the soul of your husband, your wife, your son, or your daughter, or your mommy or your dad, or your best friend? Well, I would say you probably couldn't put a price tag on it. It's so valuable.

Well, listen, God says, "All souls are Mine." God loves us and sent His son to die on the cross to pay the price for all of our sin, so we could be forgiven and come into a relationship with Him. I can't think of a better investment of my resources, of my money, than in the work of the kingdom of God. So we would ask you to prayerfully consider investing in Harvest Ministries as we continue on to fulfill the Great Commission.

Guest (Male): Yeah, that's right. And you can make your donation right now at harvest.org. Or call 1-800-821-3300. That's a 24/7 phone number. 1-800-821-3300. Well, next time, Pastor Greg comes back to conclude the story of the hand writing on the wall. We'll find out what happened to King Belshazzar. Join us here on A New Beginning with Pastor and Bible teacher Greg Laurie.