HopeLives365

Mark Finley: The best way to be prepared for the future is to walk in the light God gives you today. Is every day make a recommitment to Christ? And to know that He is your righteousness, He is your salvation, He is your Savior.

Guest (Male): This is HopeLives365 with Pastor Mark Finley. Today's message, a series in the book of Daniel, week 2, part 3. Enjoy and remember you can always catch up with past messages and stay up to date with HopeLives365 and Pastor Mark by going to HopeLives365.com. And now, Pastor Mark Finley.

Mark Finley: I love what it says in James 1, verse 5, where God says, "If any man lacks wisdom, let him come to me, that upbraideth not and giveth to all men liberally." If you're lacking wisdom, if you need some decision, God invites you to come to Him to seek His will for any decision you need to make in your life.

The handwriting is on the wall. It can't be read. They don't know what it means. All the king's wise men came, but they could not, reading verse 8, they could not read the writing or make known the king its interpretation. Then King Belshazzar was greatly troubled. His countenance was changed. His lords were astonished. So just imagine, he's shaking, he's shaking. They put down the wine cups now.

The hands that have been embracing Babylonian women fall limp. Every eye is looking upon that wall. Every eye is looking upon that writing upon the wall, that this mysterious writing, written with this finger of fire, indelibly upon the wall. Their knees are knocking. Their stomach is in knots. Sweat's pouring down their face. They sense something serious. They sense that this is an omen, a dark omen, but they don't know.

The king is angry. He's angry because the astrologers, the magicians, Chaldeans could not interpret the dream. So King Belshazzar was troubled, verse 9. His countenance was changed. His lords were astonished. The queen, because of the words of the king and the lords, came to the banquet hall. Now she wasn't there. Why? Because she was an elderly woman. Who was she? Most translations say the queen mother. This was Nebuchadnezzar's mother.

She knew that when Nebuchadnezzar's wife or Belshazzar's mother, most likely, the queen mother knew that when Nebuchadnezzar was out eating grass, the queen mother knew that Daniel was preserving the kingdom. The queen mother knew that he had interpreted Nebuchadnezzar's dream. The queen mother knew the wife of Nebuchadnezzar knew that he had talked about and interpreted the tree. So she knew. She's not in that banquet hall. Belshazzar, her grandson, calls her and says, "Come in, come in." She comes. And as she comes in, she says...

The queen, because of the words of the king, verse 10, and the lords came into the banquet hall. Then the queen spoke, saying, "O king, live forever. Don't let your thoughts trouble you, nor let the countenance change. There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the spirit of the Holy God. And in the days of your father, that would be your grandfather, light and understanding and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods were found in him, and King Nebuchadnezzar.

The king made him chief of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans and soothsayers, inasmuch as an excellent spirit, knowledge, understanding, interpreting dreams, solidifying riddles, and explaining enigmas were found in this Daniel, whom King named Belteshazzar. Now let Daniel be called and he'll give the interpretation."

Daniel had a reputation in that empire. And he had a reputation to be a man of honesty, integrity, a man that knew God. The queen mother, likely the wife of Nebuchadnezzar, likely the grandmother of Belshazzar, comes in. Call Daniel, call Daniel. A man of God, a woman of God has a reputation of a man or woman of prayer. They have a reputation where they work. They have a reputation in the school they go in. They have a reputation in the neighborhood. This man, this woman, knows God.

Daniel came in. He's brought in before the king. And Belshazzar speaks to him and says, "Are you that Daniel who's one of the captives from Judah? Are you one of the captives from Judah?" He insults him. Daniel has been in that kingdom for 70 years. Daniel's been one of the wisest men in the kingdom. Daniel likely held the kingdom together when Nebuchadnezzar's wandering and eating grass for seven years. Belshazzar's a little upstart. When Belshazzar was still crawling around in the palace as a young boy, Daniel was reigning there.

But Belshazzar wants to ridicule him. He wants to mock him. And he says, "Are you one of those captives from Judah?" And then verse 16, "I've heard of you. I've heard of you." Sure, Belshazzar, you heard of him. Everybody in the empire has heard of this wise, godly man, Daniel. "I have heard of you. And I'll tell you what, Daniel, if you read the writing and make known me the interpretation, verse 16, you'll be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around your neck and be the third ruler in the kingdom." Why third? Nabonidus is one. Belshazzar is two. Daniel would be the third ruler of the kingdom.

I love what Daniel says, verse 17. "Then Daniel said before the king, 'Let your gifts be to yourself and give your rewards to another, but I'll still read the writing and show you the interpretation.' In other words, I can't be bribed. I can't be bought off. I will show you the interpretation, but it's not because you're going to give me gifts. It's because God has revealed it to me and it's the right thing to do. It's a wonderful thing to have such a steadfast faith in God that nothing can shake you."

The greatest want of the world is the want of men and women who cannot be bought or sold, who do not fear to call sin by its right name, whose conscience is true to duty as the needle is to the pole. There's an old saying that says every man has his price. It's not true. Daniel did not have his price. Men and women of God today do not have their price. They cannot be bought or sold. Daniel says, "I'll tell you. I'll tell you the dream."

But Daniel knows it's his last chance. Daniel knows it's his last opportunity to make an appeal. So Daniel gives them a history of Israel's captivity in Babylon. He gives them that history. He says, "O king, most high, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father a kingdom and majesty and glory and honor. And because of his majesty that he gave him, all people, nations, languages trembled and feared before him. Whoever he wished, that's Nebuchadnezzar, he executed. Whoever he wished, he kept alive. Whoever he wished, he set up, and whoever he wished, he put down."

"But when his heart was lifted up, his spirit was hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne and took his glory from him." One of the key things about the book of Daniel is that when men and women live independent from God and their hearts are filled with pride, they may prosper for a short time, but soon they're going to fall. Anything we have in our life comes from God. He is the God who's given us health, the God who's given us strength, the God who daily, as Psalms says, loads us with benefits.

The failure to recognize the blessings of God means we lose those blessings. The failure to recognize everything God does for us and all His benefits means we lose it. Because if we think that we have built our own kingdoms, we can lose it in an instant. Daniel says, "Here, his heart was lifted up, verse 20, and his spirit was hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne and they took the glory from him," talking about Nebuchadnezzar, "driven from the sons of men till he knew that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men."

See, God will do anything He can to reach you, friend. God will do anything He can to reach you. It took Nebuchadnezzar seven years wandering around as a beast before he looked up to heaven. I hope it doesn't take you seven years, seven years wandering around. God loves you so much that there's nothing He will not do to save you. But notice verse 22. I think it's one of the key verses in the book of Daniel. "But you, his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, although you knew all this."

Belshazzar knew, but he did not do. One commentary puts it this way, "The opportunity of knowing and obeying the true God had been given him, Belshazzar, but he had not taken it to heart. Now he was about to receive the consequences of his unbelief and rebellion." Belshazzar knew. Belshazzar knew. The issue was not that he did not know. The issue was that he did not do. Take your Bible, please, and turn to John chapter 12. John chapter 12. Nebuchadnezzar knew, rather, Belshazzar knew. Belshazzar knew, but he did not do.

John chapter 12. You're looking there at verse 35. "Then Jesus said to them, 'A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. He who walks in darkness doesn't know where he's going. While you have the light, verse 36, believe in the light that you may be sons of the light.'" Jesus says walk while you have the light. God reveals light and truth to each one of us. If we walk in the light we have, God will reveal more light to us. If we reject the light He gives to us, we walk in darkness.

Is there some light that God is shining on your path just now? Is there some revelation of truth that God is revealing to you just now? By His grace and through His power, walk in the light of that truth. We go back. It says, verse 23, "You've lifted up against the Lord of heaven. They brought the vessels of His house." See, this is where he went too far. They brought the vessels of His house before you. "And you and your lords and your wives and your concubines have drunk wine from them. You've praised the gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron and wood and stone, which do not see and hear or know. And the God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways, you have not glorified. Then the fingers of the hand were sent from Him and His writing was Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin."

The king stands there shaking. Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin. Mene, thou art weighed in the balances and found wanting. Tekel, Upharsin, your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and the Persians. Mene, God has numbered your kingdom and finished it. Tekel, you've been weighed in the balances and found wanting. Peres, your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and the Persians. That was the last night for Babylon. Judgment fell. I get a sense that judgment's hanging over our world. That we live in a world very much like ancient Babylon.

A world that is saturated with pleasure. A world that is filled with materialism. A sex-centered, thrill-jaded world that's going crazy over the things of time rather than the things of eternity. I get a sense that we're living in a world that has drifted further and further from God. When right has become wrong and wrong has become right. Where truth is mocked and ridiculed and scoffed at. Where error is accepted as the norm. And where unrighteousness is considered righteousness. And where people say there is no truth.

I get a sense that the grains of sand are running out of the hourglass of time. I get a sense that the cup of iniquity is being filled. I get a sense that we're living on the verge of the eternal world. That God is appealing to us to make eternal decisions for Christ. Eternal decisions for His kingdom. Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians. Notice a very interesting thing. God had predicted the Persian ruler that would overthrow Babylon 150 years before his birth.

Let's look at a couple of Bible texts. First, Isaiah chapter 44. Isaiah chapter 44. And I want to share with you something that I think is incredible. Isaiah 44, verse 27. Well, let's go back and look at verse 26 to 28. Isaiah 44, 26 to 28. "Who confirms the word of His servant and performs the counsel of His messengers. Who says to Jerusalem, 'You shall be inhabited.' To the cities of Judah, 'You shall be rebuilt.' And I'll raise up her waste places. Who says to the deep, 'Be dry, and I'll dry up your rivers.' Who says to Cyrus, 'He's my shepherd. He'll perform all my pleasure.' Even saying to Jerusalem, 'You'll be rebuilt,' and to the temple, 'Your foundation shall be laid.'"

Now wait a minute. Cyrus is not even born yet. This is 150 years before his birth. And look at how precise it is. Cyrus would be the one that says to Jerusalem, 'You'll be rebuilt.' Cyrus would be the one that would let the captives go free. Maybe a million and a half, two million Israelites in captivity. Go back and rebuild your temple. But he's not born. Isaiah names him 150 years before his birth. And it says, "Who says to Cyrus, 'He's my shepherd.'" Do you know that in Cyrus's boyhood, according to the historical records we have, he was a shepherd?

Cyrus was a shepherd, but now he's going to be God's shepherd. To let Israel go free, to lead them back. Look at Isaiah 45, verse 1. "Thus says the Lord to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I've held. To subdue nations before him, to loose the armor of kings. To open him before double gates and the gates will not be shut." Look, Cyrus would say to the rivers, 'Be dry.' One of Cyrus's sacred horses drowned in the Euphrates. He then got the sense he was going to divert the river. And he dug channels, diverted the river, dried it up, marched his armies underneath the walls.

But remember said the two-leaved gates wouldn't be shut? There were inner walls. Because of the drunken feast, those gates are open. His soldiers marched under the walls, came up through those gates that were not shut, attacked and overthrew Babylon. This prophecy was fulfilled exactly like it is. But now let me show you something incredible. Second Chronicles chapter 36. Second Chronicles chapter 36. Now this is the proclamation of Cyrus. Second Chronicles 36, verse 22.

"Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of the king of Persia so that he made a proclamation throughout all the kingdom and also put it in writing. Thus says Cyrus the king of Persia, 'All the kingdoms of the earth the Lord God of heaven has commanded me, and He has commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem which is in Judea. Who is there among you of all people? May the Lord God be with him. Let him go up.'"

Here is Cyrus passing the decree. But notice that Cyrus says, "The Lord God commanded me." How did Cyrus know that that was the command of God? How did he know that? I'd like to imagine this scene. And I think it's highly plausible. Daniel, 87 years old. First year of Cyrus. Daniel now maybe 88. And here Cyrus has attacked. Daniel has an audience chamber with Cyrus. And Daniel opens to him the book of Isaiah and from the ancient scrolls reads Isaiah.

Cyrus is my shepherd. And Cyrus sits there amazed. 150 years before I was born, that was written of me? My shepherd, I was a shepherd. And I did dry up the river and the leaf gates weren't shut. Daniel continues to read. He goes back here to Chronicles. Daniel tells Cyrus the story of his destiny. And Cyrus, seeing the role that he is to play in the plan of God, seeing the predictions of God's word, Cyrus signs the decree so many in Israel can go free.

Prophecy does not guess. It knows. Just as God predicted that Cyrus would be the ruler and the king that would allow Israel to go free. Just as God named Cyrus by name. Just as those minute details of prophecy were fulfilled then. So in end time, God has predicted once again prophetic events in the book of Daniel and in the book of Revelation that will unfold just before the time of the end.

And just as surely as prophecy has been fulfilled in the past, so prophecy has been fulfilled and will be fulfilled in the future. Why does God give us prophecy? For two reasons. First, the Bible says that these things I've written before you that when they come to pass, Jesus said, you may believe. So God gives us prophecy to deepen and strengthen our faith. Faith in His word, faith in His purposes, faith that He's in control.

There's a second reason God gives us prophecy. God gives us prophecy so that we will be prepared for what's coming. The books of Daniel and Revelation reveal that a great crisis is coming on the world, but we need not be fearful. Through Christ and by Christ, in Christ and because of Christ, we can be ready when Jesus comes. We can be prepared. And the best way to be prepared for the future is to walk in the light God gives you today.

Is every day make a recommitment to Christ. Every day have your heart dedicated to Him anew and afresh. And to know that He is your righteousness, He is your salvation, He is your Savior. And as Jesus says, nobody can pluck you out of my hand. Let's pray together. Father in heaven, we thank you for your love and grace and goodness. We thank you that we are your children, that nobody can pluck us out of your hand. Keep us faithful to you now and through eternity. Thank you, Lord, that you're never caught by surprise, that the future is in your hands, that we can trust you implicitly. In Jesus' name, amen.

Guest (Male): You've been listening to HopeLives365 with Pastor Mark Finley. We hope you've enjoyed today's message and remind you that you can find more in our many ministry resources at HopeLives365.com. And you can support this ministry by going to HopeLives365.com/donate. And now, a final thought from Pastor Mark.

Mark Finley: You know, everything can be going good in your life. In one instant, things can change. One instant. One visit to the doctor and that lump can be malignant, can be stage four cancer. One icy road and car can go off of it. One war. Just think of how things has changed for our friends in Ukraine. Think of how the Middle East has changed so dramatically, so quickly.

Think of how one flood can take home homes away and one earthquake can destroy a city. You can be sleeping in your house and a tornado can come. You think about how quickly your life and things can change. That's why day by day, the only security is in Jesus. I love what it says in Psalm 46, "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed and the mountains carried into the midst of the sea."

I love what it says in Isaiah 41:10, "Fear thou not for I am with thee. Be not dismayed for I will comfort thee. I will uphold thee with my right hand of my righteousness." The only security is the security in these days of uncertainty that Jesus Christ gives to us. Amen. Thank you so much for joining us. We'll be still here in California next week, and so we invite you to join us again. We're going to be studying Daniel chapter 6.

It's a familiar story of Daniel in the lions' den, but I'll share with you some new twists, new insights. Don't miss it. Hey, and be sure to invite friends to join with you. I know there are many small groups, hundreds of people are joining our Bible study. Be sure to join us once again. If you have any questions, here's where you can send in your questions. It's at info@hopelives365.com. Questions, info@hopelives365.com.