Sin Now, Pay Later

SIN NOW, PAY LATER

Galatians 6: 7-8

I. Sow Disobedience, Reap Destruction (Belshazzar – Daniel 5: 1-31)

Nebuchadnezar – The Great king is long dead.

Belshazzar - his grandson is on the Throne

Daniel – the young “Man of God” found in the first 4 chapters is now an old man of around 90 years old. He is still faithfully serving God.

A. Vs. 1-9 A Night of Excess Vs. 1-9

Vs. 1 “A great feast” – The king made a great feast to over a thousand of His lords. Archeology reveals that the palace had a banquet room that could hold over 10 thousand people’

Everybody that was anybody was there. Wine, Women, and Song.

Vs. 2-4 In his drunkenness Belshazzar ordered all the sacred vessels that were captured by his grandfather in the overthrow of Jerusalem to be brought to the feast.

These vessels were dedicated to the worship of Jehovah GOD.

WHY – So they could drink out of them and Mock the God of Israel by his Gods.

Note vs. 4 The defied the God of Israel and praised the Gods of Babylon.

BIG MISTAKE - Its been said of late "Don’t mess with Texas" Well How about this "DON’T MESS WITH GOD"

Vs. 5,6 God just poured cold water on the King’s party. The king turned “White as a sheet” – He “messed his pants” – He was so afraid that his knees shook together.

Vs. 7-9 The Hand wrote but no one could tell what it wrote. He called for all the wise men of the land but there was none among them that could understand it.

Belshazzar knew one thing - The Party’s Over.

B. Vs. 10-29 A Night Of Revelation

Vs. 10-12 “Now the Queen” – Probably the kings mother “There is a Man” – God has some answers the world doesn’t have.

Vs. 13-17 Everybody who was anybody was at the King’s party - Except Daniel - God’s Man

Note vs. 17 – “Keep your money” Daniel said. –

Today’s impostors of faith healers and televangelists could learn from Daniel.

God Now Begins To Instruct Belshazzar. He has His Attention.

God Takes The King to School

1. A HISTORY LESSON - Vs. 18-21 First Daniel gives Belshazzar a History lesson.

He get’s an “F” He Hadn’t learned from History.

2. A THEOLOGY LESSON – Vs. 22-23 Second Daniel gives the King a Lesson in Theology.

He get’s an “F” in theology. The Other Gods can’t help you.

3. A SPELLING LESSON – Vs. 24,25 Next Daniel gives Belshazzar a lesson in Spelling.

He get’s an “F” again.

Mene – means Numbered

Tekel means Weighed

Phares means Divided

4. A MATH LESSON – Vs. 26-28 Last Daniel gives Belshazzar a lesson in Math.

Belshazzar – God has your number – its up

Belshazzar - You don’t weigh up on God’s scale.

Belshazzar – Your kingdoms divided.

He gets an “F” in Math

Vs. 29 – He still doesn’t get it. – He’s promoting Daniel and he’s a walking Dead man.

C. Vs30,31 A Night Of Judgment.

Vs 30. “In that night” The King thought he was going to live forever. But God had other plans.

Belshazzar thought he was going to live forever. He thought he had an unconquerable city. That very night. Something was going on that Belshazzar didn’t know. All through these two years the Persians had been secretly building a canal that would divert the flow of the Euphrates river so that the waters could be diverted into a marsh.

Belshazzar and the people of Babylon didn’t know that that very day they had completed the job. They had diverted the waters of the Euphrates. The level of the water of the Euphrates that went under that wall had gone down.

Now the armies of Persia are silently marching in the bed of the river. They go under the walls. Conspirators are there at gates now to open up the gates.

In just a moment that Persian army walks right into the banquet hall of Belshazzar

The wages of sin is death.

II. Sow Looseness, Reap Lonelines (Saul 1 Samuel 17-26)

The Prophet Samuel then explained to Saul just how he had betrayed God and God’s people.

It really is hard to say for sure why Saul responded the way he did. Was he trying to justify his actions to Samuel? Or, did he not see the sin he had committed

I would suggest that this is a very real problem for Christians living in the 21st Century. Many believers struggle with the fear of what other people say instead of what of what God has already told them.

In our story, Saul was the most powerful king in all the world. He was in charge of God’s Army. He had no reason for being afraid of anyone.