In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes three main points. Firstly, he states that life is like a party and should not be taken seriously. He argues that people should not be concerned with the soul or the concept of dying. Secondly, he highlights the disrespect shown towards God and His vessels by using them mockingly. The preacher believes that this reflects a mockery of God Himself. Lastly, he mentions the imminent threat of the enemy at the gate, referring to the story of Belshazzar's death in Daniel chapter 5. The preacher concludes by urging the audience to seek God and His guidance in their lives.

Daniel, tape 5, chapter 5, Fragrance of Christ. Let's pray for them. Where would you be in the morning, if you had to die tonight? If an angel could pass your thunder, would you try to walk this night? Every man will hear you clap, clap, clap, no place to run but high. Where would you be in the morning, if you had to die tonight? How do you eat your breakfast? How do you watch the circus? Jump or fall or run your feet? Is that good? No, it's real hot. Are you living like you should? Knocking like a person would? Don't you think it's time to stop? When you stand before the master, you may be a burden, but if you're naked, I'll be cold right away. That's very bad, but take a big romp. It's the romance that will get you there. Where would you be in the morning, if you had to die tonight? If an angel could pass your thunder, would you try to walk this night? Every man will hear you clap, clap, clap, no place to run but high. Where would you be in the morning, if you had to die tonight? Where would you be in the morning, if you had to die tonight? If an angel could pass your thunder, would you try to walk this night? Every man will hear you clap, clap, clap, no place to run but high. Where would you be in the morning, if you had to die tonight? Where would you be in the morning, if you had to die tonight? In the morning. Thank you very much. That's a, uh, a fun song, but when you think about it, every man will hear it is clap, clap, clap. That's what we're talking about. And not everyone will respond. And because the study of God is the work, there is a principle of Bible study that is absolutely indispensable. We praise God for all the helps and assistances and aids and reference books, commentaries, concordances, atlases, maps, all kinds of helps. But we realize that if we forget the indispensable principle, that which is helpful won't help us anymore. There is no substitute for coming as a little babe to the Lord, helpless dependence upon the Holy Spirit, trusting God to open His Word. There is no person on earth that can give you a revelation of Christ from this book, only the Spirit of God. That's what Bible study is all about. If you study the Bible for any other reason than to see the Lord, it will just make you proud. Because knowledge pops up. The only legitimate way to come to this book is to see Him, to learn from Him, and let Him be your teacher. He's promised that He will come as little babes, that He will do His task for us. If we came to Him as dry ground, He'd rain His fresh water upon us. If we came with our mouths open, He'd feed us. All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ Jesus. He tells us to hide in place, or without excuse if we don't find Him. So let's try to get there and commit our time unto Him, and then we'll look in His Word. I want to thank you again this morning for this privilege to wait before you and to trust you to anoint our eyes with our sight. We do wait upon you, Lord, to minister the Lord Jesus through this book. We know if we see Him, we'll not be the same. Take a better way, show us the glory of the Lord, and then transform us into the same image from one degree of glory to another. We thank you for every part of the Bible, but in a special way this weekend, this morning, we thank you for the book of Daniel. We know the Bible would be incomplete without these chapters. Our lives must be incomplete, then, without the revelation of Christ in these chapters. And so minister through your Word to our hearts. Meet us where we are. Take us where you want us. We claim it in the all-prevailing name of our Lord Jesus. Amen. I'll ask you to turn to Daniel chapter 5, if you would. Very quick review since Tom has reviewed for us and it hasn't been that long since we've gathered together. The point of Daniel chapter 1 to 6, as we understand God's part in these chapters, God's doing something in Daniel. He's making himself known. God is working on a stage, a platform in Daniel, human history. Daniel's a history book. God always makes himself known in history. God is using men like Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. God always uses men like this. And these six chapters we've been discussing, what kind of men are these? Who are those channels of redemption? Who are the instruments that God uses to make himself known in history? As Tom reviewed chapter 1, there are men who have set their hearts just to know him. I just want to please him. I don't want to defile myself. I just want God happy. God will embark a whole life for them. And out of that one desire, I just want to please him, God began to issue these great revelations. With such a heart, I just want to please him. Chapter 2, I want to see him in this book. Chapter 3, I want to walk in liberty and in union with him. And out of that walk, Nebuchadnezzar begins to see Christ. And then chapter 4 and 5, as Tom suggested, the same principle covers both chapters. One's the positive, one's the negative. As I walk in union with God, my life is filled with Christ. Christ is a fragrance. That fragrance rises up to God the Father. He's pleased. And as that fragrance rises up, it also permeates around. Some smell it and say, praise God that I'm walking here. A scent of life. Some smell the same fragrance. And to them, it's a savor of death unto death. Praise God for the revelation that Tom was sharing with us. Nebuchadnezzar smelled the aroma of Daniel's life. Daniel wasn't trying to win Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel was trying to please the Lord. He was living under God. His life was a savor, a fragrance to God, an aroma sweet unto the Lord. Nebuchadnezzar smelled that and laughed it into his life. And he responded ultimately. Daniel walked into his life for 10 minutes. Walked out for 10 years. And God used that fragrance. And he came to Christ. Well, that brings us then to chapter 5. God, I wish I could tell you from the authority of the word that all people who smell this aroma, who smell this life, will bow the knee and bend the stiff neck to our Lord. But you know that's not true. It's not that way. Some will see the same light. We'll feel the same influences. We'll smell the same aroma. And yet there's some kind of a different response. They'll reject it. They won't be moved. They won't be moved. Daniel chapter 5 is a record of such a man. Nebuchadnezzar smelled Daniel's life and got saved. Belshazzar, note the difference in the spelling, so you don't mix him up with Daniel. It's not Belshazzar. It's Belshazzar. He smelled Daniel's life and to him it was death. Rather than reading the chapter, I'm going to isolate some principles and then give some verses as we go along. Chapter 5 is called Belshazzar the King. Now don't be puzzled about that expression, Belshazzar the King. Maybe you'll hear someday or read someday. Modern scholarship tries to tell us there was no such king as Belshazzar. After Nebuchadnezzar there were four other kings and Belshazzar was never one of them. Well, no doubt there were four kings after Belshazzar. There's about 25 years between chapter 4 and chapter 5. One of a century goes by and according to secular records, a man named Nabonidus was the king when Babylon fell. Well, they just recently unearthed some more documents and they found out that Belshazzar was his son and co-reigned with him and he was always out of town on business and so evidently the chief king was away even though it is fathers leave their sons in charge of things and then come home. Well, he was acting as king on this night and of course it went to his head and when he returned there was nothing to return to. I don't know if you've read the chapter or know the record but you'll see it as we go along. And so Belshazzar became, he's acting as king, he's a co-king with the last king of Babylon. Now we saw in chapter 2 in that great image that Babylon, that all of the kingdoms represent this world system. In fact, in Revelation 17 and 18 when you look at the mystic world system, they named it Babylon. Babylon, just a picture of this world in all of its glory and I might add its fading glory. And just so, I think God gives us in chapter 5 this Belshazzar. If Babylon is a picture of all of its rules and its fading glory, then it seems like Belshazzar is the incarnation of the worldly man. He's the picture, the epitome of the unsaved, the ungodly, the unresponsive, the fleshly, the worldly man. In this chapter, Babylon comes to an end. Babylon's a picture of the world. This world comes to an end in chapter 5. It's all over in chapter 5. Belshazzar, the worldly man, comes to an end in chapter 5 and so he becomes God's picture of the rejecter to the end of the world. Any place in all the world you go and you find somebody rejecting God and not responding to the fragrance of the Christ light, you'll find Belshazzar. There he is again. You'll find him in your classmates. You'll find him in your neighbors. You'll find him in your family. You'll find him probably in your church. The man who's only resisting the Lord. Now the facts in this story illustrate these everlasting principles and I thought the best way to get it before your heart is just to isolate the great facts in this chapter and then point out the underlying principles. Any place in the world where someone is rejecting God, you will find these characteristics. We'll just call them the characteristics of the rejecter. First fact. I'll give you five of them. First fact. Chapter 1. Bye-bye. First one. A great feast was held for a thousand of his nobles and he was drinking wine in the presence of the thousand. If you want to appreciate this chapter you have to see that there was a great party being held. This was a festive occasion. Good time. Wine. Women. Song. And as you can see from the context it was a party for the bigwigs. Not everybody was invited to this party. Daniel wasn't invited to this party. The man of God was never invited to this kind of a party. Not that he would have responded necessarily to the invitation anyway. Daniel chapter 5 verse 4 tells the purpose of the party. They drank the wine and praised the gods of gold and silver and bronze and iron and wood and stone. You'll recognize many of those are the same elements that were in chapter 2 in that image. The party was held to worship this world system. That was the whole idea of it. The kingdoms of this world we praise the gods of this world. Chapter 5 verse 23 Daniel says You praise the gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood and stone and then he adds this comment which do not see or understand. This party was held for the senseless worship of the world. That's what this was all about. It's just a grim picture of darkness. And if you read the record there was a drunken orgy is all it was. It was just tragic triviality. As you go through the record you'll see Belshazzar in all his poems has that view, has that idea. Life is a party. That's what this is all about. Life is just a party. Eat, drink and be merry. The world is worshiped. Everything about this world system. So that's fact number one, principle number one. Life is a party. Take nothing seriously. The opposite of sorrow. Never be serious about anything. Life is just a great big party. Second fact was two and three. When Belshazzar tasted the wine he gave orders to bring the gold and silver vessels which never can enter his father. There's no Hebrew word for father. It's poor father. His father could be father or grandfather or great grandfather. In this case it says father but it's really poor father. And we find out it was at least his great grandfather. But anyway, had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem in order that the king and his nobles his wives and his concubines might drink from that. Then they brought the gold vessels that had been taken out of the temple to the house of God which was in Jerusalem and the king and his nobles his wives and his concubines drank from that. They drank the wine and praised the gods of gold and silver and so on. There's no question what was going on in verses three through three four. They were mocking God. They were mocking the Lord. And we saw from chapter one they believed that their God had conquered the God of the Hebrews. And when they ransacked the temple and took down the spoils the special vessels Nebuchadnezzar about 75 years before this when he brought his army there had taken those things and those were trophies of the victory of their God over Israel's God. And they destroyed the temple in those holy masses. And now Nebuchadnezzar viewing life as a great big party let's mock God. And let's go get those vessels and let's take the holy things of God and let's take those holy vessels of God and put the things of the world in the vessels of God and then let's drink in honor to the world. And they were saying in effect in your face stop. They were mocking the Lord. It was a joke, a matter of laughter of foolishness desecrating the things of God. You'll find that's true. Their view of life life is a party. Their view of the Lord is mocked. Daniel said later in chapter 5, 23 The God in whose hands are your life breath and your ways you have not glorified. Thousands and thousands of rulings take the Lord's vessels the things of God and they use them the Bible the house of God the Lord's table the Psalms of the Lord the saints of God and they just use them for rumors and they use them as a mockery to the world. Life is a party God is mocked there's dirt back. I'll summarize it in these words and then illustrate it for you. The enemy is at the door The enemy is right at the gate Take the wife of Scurdy, please. That same night Belshazzar, the Chaldean king was slain. So the wife of me received a kingdom at the age of sixty-two. While they partied while they had a good time while God was mocked the enemy was at the door and the strange and mysterious hand wrote on the plaster wall this is the chapter with the handwriting on the wall chapter 525 me, me, Tekel Aharson God has numbered your kingdom numbered, numbered me, me, two times I don't know really the importance of saying it twice I know in Genesis chapter 41, 32 when Pharaoh had a dream twice we read these words after the repetition of the dream twice it means the man is determined by God and God will bring it about quickly I don't know if that's a principle every time God says it twice he's determined I know it's true for Pharaoh and I know it's true in this chapter numbered numbered, your days are numbered but see the world, they don't think about that Belshazzar, lots of partying spiritual things are mocked they don't know their days are numbered they don't know the kingdom is numbered and they've been weighed in the balances and they've been found deficient and that they're about to be broken and that's what that means historians tell us there were great double walls around the city of Babylon big walls, wide walls you could take three chariots and put them abreast and ride along the top of the walls and they were proud of their security around Babylon and they didn't have no water supply so right underneath, from east to west through the city of Babylon the great river Euphrates flowed right through the river under the walls and what they didn't realize was that night while they partied Silas, Delias the army of the Medes and the Persians had dug a new channel for the river Euphrates and had diverted it to a dry out lake which was just south of the city and while they were in singing and dancing and having a great party the river Euphrates was diverting the channel and the army had marched in under the wall in the dry out river there and while they were having their good time life is a party God is mocked they didn't know the enemy was at the door at the gate under the wall already in the city every man will hear his knock, knock, knock some smell and savor and respond this is really a tragic death because it just features the war you've recognized it already you've got friends, you've got neighbors probably family members what the hell? how wise to find you too serious don't be so spiritual all the time life is a party God is mocked and the enemy is at the door already in the city they're playing games upstairs and there's a fire in the cellar a tragedy life is uncertain and the days have been numbered the hours have been numbered the minutes have been numbered for the record God knows the number of breaths that he knows you'll take phenomenal and then he says to Nebuchadnezzar don't you know God is holding breaths? you're breathing his air and every moment he can do that it's gone, you're done, it's over it's this world life is a party God is mocked I hope you're in the tradition in your family I'm glad in the New Testament the word tradition is mentioned ten times five in a favorable way five in an unfavorable way and so that means tradition is not always wrong sometimes it is wrong and it can be very dangerous in our family for the last ten years or so we've had a tradition we find the year verse and the family memorizes the year verse and we listen to music and we sing it and hopefully we meditate on it through the year and this year and it's not because it's 1990 it just happened to be Psalm 90 but it's Psalm 90 verse 12 so teach us to number our days that we may present to thee a harvest we've got city ones say they don't number their days and they don't know that their days are numbered Belshazzar didn't number his days but God did and now while he staggers in his drunken stupor with the attitude life is a party and God is mocked he doesn't know that the end is at the door meaning he fell of course numbered, numbered, weighed and weighed and divided that's the third act fourth act chapter 5 verse 5 suddenly within little man's hand emerged and began writing opposite the lamp stand and on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace the king saw the back of the hand that did the writing and the king's face grew pale and his thoughts alarmed him and his hip joints went slack and his knees began knocking together and he calls out for to bring in the conjurers, the chaldeans, the diviners the king spoke and said to the wise men of Babylon any man who can read this inscription and explain its interpretation will be clothed with purple and have a necklace of gold around his neck have authority as a third ruler in the kingdom and so on life is a party God is mocked the enemy is at the door and may I say the handwriting is on the wall the handwriting is on the wall now when we use that expression and it's become a proverb that means it's obvious the handwriting is on the wall it's obvious it's clear it's unmistakable you can't miss it but may I say in the context and to the world it's not so obvious it's not so clear it should be obvious in this chapter if this chapter says anything it says this God's hand is in the life of the ungodly certainly in this chapter his hand is in their life literally but not only here God's hand is in their life all through the life of the ungodly Tom will share how much grace God had with Nebuchadnezzar while he read this chapter and God had quite a bit of grace here too verse 18 please Daniel is already brought in and he speaks O King the Most High God has granted sovereignty grandeur, glory, and majesty to Nebuchadnezzar your forefather and because of the grandeur of which he bestowed on him all the peoples, nations, and men of every language feared and trembled before him from every wish he killed from every wish he spared alive from every wish he elevated from every wish he humbled but when his heart was lifted up and his spirit became so proud he behaved arrogantly he was deposed from his royal throne his glory was taken away from him he was driven away from mankind his heart was made like that of beasts his dwelling place was with the wild donkeys he was given grass to eat like cattle his body was drenched with the dew of heaven until he recognized that the Most High God is ruler over the realm of mankind and set over it whomever he wishes now watch verse 22 Yet you, his son Nebuchadnezzar have not humbled your heart even though you knew all this you see God had grace in Delshazzar's life he had the testimony of his great grandfather he knew it he realized that God holds you responsible every time you see his grace in the life of somebody else last week we celebrated Lillian's grandfather's 100th birthday and we went to Connecticut we had this big party 100 years old of course he didn't hardly know he was having a birthday party his thoughts these days are to be with the Lord he's not really with him all the time he came to know Jesus when he was in his 60s and for 40 years he lived a strong testimony among the family and my mother-in-law said to him when you come would you mind saying a word that we'd like to have something from the Bible for his 100th birthday and I'm thinking what in the world am I going to say I realize I find the words, you know and I've been studying this to prepare my heart and I thought Delshazzar you knew all this this is your great-grandfather you saw what God did here and I'll tell you it was a great honor for me to stand before any of my relatives and say you're without excuse you have a responsibility I have a responsibility because look what God did for him and for 40 years we knew his life the grace of God that was God's hand in his life before God's hand came in his life you know what I'm saying God's hand was already in his life he could have looked to what God did realize this every time God works in your house and every time God works in your uncle and every time God works in your cousin and every time God works in your son or your daughter or your wife or your husband or any relative, your neighbor, your boss, your bus driver, your teacher any time you see God do anything in anybody's life every man will hear it is knock, knock, knock that's God that's the hand of the Lord and Daniel faithfully told him look you had the opportunity you saw this you saw what God did to Melchizedek you didn't regard it you neglected it a real life is a party and God is locked and you don't know the end of that door and a handwriter is on the wall you should know this and then in verse 6 I'm sure God was working in his conscience the king's face from fail his thoughts alarmed him I wonder what thoughts alarmed him what went through his mind at that party when he's having such a good time he sees his hand come out of nowhere and silently scribble on the wall then God said look you're without excuse I've already ministered unto you you have the conscience that little built-in preacher that I put there this man's frightened to death he must have been embarrassed to death too he's a king he falls apart his knees begin to knock together his hip goes out of joint and he's just he begins to in hysteria call for the wise men to come in the man suggests when you deal with some people tears and fears are not necessarily salvation I mean this man was definitely moved by what God was doing you might say well you know what God's saying because he looked at the response in his life well I'll tell you many many people respond but not to salvation and a tragedy comes into their life or a hard situation or a close call and they get scared and they cry and don't think they're necessarily saved that's a door that's a knock knock knock but that doesn't mean they respond to you verses 10, 11, 12 he certainly should have wised up when the queen mother this is probably another commencement what? when she came in when manly or I'm in the wrong chapter that's 6, 5, 10 the queen after the banquet hall because of the words of the king and his nobles the queen spoke and said oh king live forever do not let your thoughts alarm you or your faith be failed there's a man in your kingdom and wisdom is the spirit of the holy god in the days of your father illumination, insight, wisdom like the wisdom of the god were found in him and king Nebuchadnezzar your father the father the king appointed him chief of the magicians conjurers, chaldeans, diviners this was because of extraordinary spirit knowledge and insight interpretation of dreams explanation of the metals solving of difficult problems were found in this Daniel whom the king named Belshazzar let Daniel now be summoned he'll declare the interpretation now don't get the idea that Belshazzar hears of Daniel now for the first time and he never knew anything but now the queen comes in and says oh let me tell you about a man I heard about he already knew about Daniel you say how do you know that because when Daniel comes in he gives more information than the queen gave him notice in verse 13 Daniel was brought before the king the king spoke and said to Daniel are you that Daniel who was one of the exiles from Judah how do you know that the queen didn't say that see as time was sharing Daniel already had the reputation he already knew it that dragons had already gone through the kingdom Belshazzar already knew about Daniel it amazes me how the unsaved always call their own person wait till they see the bankruptcy of the world system and they call all these people that can't help and then after at the end they say better call the preacher better call the Christian you ever notice that I've tried this, I've tried this, I've tried this nothing works then they finally turn to the man of God certainly the handwriting on the wall shows the patience of God you know these days we're numb he was already weighing pounds of fish he was already to be broken what did God gain by going through this chapter what did God gain by bringing in that hand that was a call to repentance there was no other purpose for that except to let him know that it's still not too late you can still turn and that's exactly what God was doing he was having grace on this man how often God breaks up our party and interferes in our life that's all part of his grace calling people to repentance Belshazzar disregarded the testimony of his relatives he disregarded his own conscience he disregarded the reputation that he knew well of Daniel he disregarded the warning of God that interruption of the party look at verse 25 when you look at those strange words the hand comes in knee, knee, knee tackle the person when you look at Belshazzar's great desire to understand it you get this idea that some kind of a heavenly scribble was on the wall that God wrote in some alien language some strange thing but do you realize this? that wasn't an alien language you know, of course, this is going to be wrong but he wrote in English obviously he wasn't an idiot he wrote that in Aramaic, that was the language it wasn't that he couldn't read it he knew exactly when he looked at that he knew exactly what it said he looked at that, he understood the words no question about it, it was in his language he saw number, number, way, broken he just didn't know what it meant he knew the words but he didn't know what it meant like Tom was sharing in his first study about having the word of God, but you didn't get the interpretation with it he didn't have the light to understand the handwriting on the wall now, these are the unsaid life is a party God was mocked enemies at the door handwritings on the wall but remember the point of this chapter the point of these six chapters is Daniel we're talking about lessons we're talking about the fact that God is making himself known in history through men like Daniel Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and one of the greatest mercies that Belshazzar ever had in his life was the fragrance of Christ that laughed through Daniel's life and now Daniel comes in as a last call as a last resort as God's last attempt to reach him once Belshazzar was already without excuse he had denied God's hand in his life now Daniel comes in and because we're talking about Daniel for the sake of logical connection let me give several characteristics now of the man God uses first of all he didn't crash the party God did, Daniel didn't God crashed the party Daniel didn't come in and say now here's a list of your sins and God will judge you it's the same as in chapter 4 God had said that I'm going to have to chop down this great tree Nebuchadnezzar most evangelists or many I won't say most but many sermon winners they feel like God's going to chop them down and He's going to use me as the axe and I'm going to help God chop them down and I'm going to point out these sins Daniel didn't do that Daniel didn't come in and say turn on your wicked cane and start listing all of your sins God's going to judge you for your public insolence and God's going to judge you for your daring impiety imagine taking the vessels of God and drinking wine out of them for your profanity and your wickedness your drunkenness Daniel had a lot of ammunition he could have rubbed them in his face and rebuked them in the name of the Lord but Daniel wasn't trying to do anything but know God Daniel was just living his life and so Daniel lived until he was summoned he was just available for the Lord God crashed the party verse 11 there is a man in your kingdom in whom is the spirit of the gods verse 12 he's presented his own insight in a spiritual way there's an expression in verse 12 it says the solving of difficult problems if you haven't came to James version it says dissolving of doubts in the original language it says the ability to cut a knot here's Daniel who could cut knots but Belshazzar never called him to cut a knot remember how it was shared with us in the early part of the study how we have needs and we have to know that we have needs Belshazzar's life was a tangle but he never sought anybody to cut a knot he never sought out the difference between him and Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar was always asking, always seeking, always looking and so God met him God was reaching out for Belshazzar but he didn't think he had any knots he didn't think he had any problems any problems you'll never find Daniel here or anywhere in the book forcing himself on anybody he's not forcing opportunities he had learned the principle of just being available he had learned what Peter later wrote to Christian pilgrims and just had always been ready to give an answer to anyone who asks and that's where he was just waiting for somebody to ask I'm still amazed that Daniel is last on the list and they all called in until the very end chapter 1 we found out after testing these men were found 10 times wiser than anybody else it doesn't make sense to me on the level of a if I had a mechanic in my town that had a reputation of being 10 times better than anybody else I wouldn't call him last if there was a doctor in my town that had a reputation of being 10 times better than anybody else I wouldn't call him last if there was a businessman who wanted to help me invest my money I wouldn't call him last I'll tell you what when I found a woman 10 times better than the rest of you than anybody else I chose her I'm on a leap at that but those that were like his forefathers before him they call in all the wise men all the magicians and the conjurers and after they learn of their poverty and their bankruptcy and their inability to help then last on the list comes the man of God who's able to cut the knot the man of God who's able to open up heaven who's able to show God anyway Daniel's available that's the first thing I want to see that Daniel is invited by a worldly man to a worldly party and a crowd of worldly people and is he ever given worldly flattery and promised worldly goods and worldly treasures verse 14 I have heard about you that the spirit of God is in you that illumination's in you that insight's in you that extraordinary wisdom is in you verse 15 they couldn't declare it verse 16 but I've personally heard about you all that flattery all that praise you know in the bible we often talk God talks about gold and silver being tested gold is in a furnace silver is purified in a crucible and so on and we often read about the test that Christians have to go through the crucible have to go through the furnace what is the hottest furnace that you're going to have to go in as gold and silver say the sorrows of life or trials and troubles or suffering of all in a furnace what a test yeah that's a test but that's not your hottest furnace see Proverbs 27.21 tells you your hottest furnace it says the crucible's for silver and the furnace is for gold when a man is tested can you finish it by the praise afforded him how about that the hottest test you'll ever have is when someone pats you on the back the hottest test you'll ever have is when someone flatters you they can't do it but I've heard about you and I know that you have the spirit you're able to cut knots in all this this approbation of man man's a strange creature boy you'll pat him on the back his head's from and no one ever does that it's just man I've heard personally about you you're wonderful you're spiritual you must know the whole bible my you are a spiritual person the three Hebrews were thrown into a furnace of fire in chapter 3 but Daniel's thrown into a furnace of praise and I want you to notice how he handles it verse 16 he said you'll be clothed with purple and a necklace of gold around your neck and you'll have authority third ruler of the kingdom I almost have to laugh when I read this here's this guy said I'll make you third ruler and you'll have gold and jewels and Daniel looks at the wall says he can't wait for an hour you're going to give me these great legends you can't entice me with what I know is going to pass away overnight you can't lure me with what's going to burn up Daniel had seen God Daniel understood how typical of worldly honors that they're going to pass away so quickly and so Daniel says keep your gifts for yourself give the rewards to somebody else that's nice hey that's perfuming right that's fragrance here's a man of God that's not lured by this world you know how the old young say that all Christians are hypocrites and all they ever want is money they put one hand on your shoulder the other one in your pocket and that's what it's all about gimme gimme gimme they're always trying to get money I'll tell you about Daniel there was no mistletoe on the deer there was no mist fragrance here this was a pure savior Daniel wouldn't give him that excuse hey we're going to do this we've heard this about you you're great we're going to pass this give it to somebody else give it to somebody else Daniel was deaf to flatteries and Daniel was dumb to honors every true missionary is deaf and dumb when it comes to the world Daniel didn't initiate his own opportunities Daniel was humble and unruly and spiritual and money hungry but what he wants this to well it says I was all concerned about the handwriting on the wall why he wants that heart patch when he saw that it was said he called aloud to bring in all these other guys can you picture him and his alarm and his terror and his fright and his hysteria calling at the top of his lungs and what was he screaming tell me what it means tell me what that interpretation I'll reward you I'll give you money I'll give you gold I'll indulge you give you authority tell me what it means and Daniel the man of God aged man silver hair comes walking in the man says I've heard this about you I've been around tell me what it means you know God said 18 to 24 I'll read it again but I'll summarize it for you in effect Daniel is saying this oh Belshazzar you dumb idiot Belshazzar you want to know what that means here you see this handwriting you see a hand come off of the sky the invisible you're so concerned about what it says and you're not concerned about whose hand it is you want to know what's written and you don't care who wrote it and Daniel as a faithful friend of Christ he said I'll tell you what it means but first let me introduce you to the one who wrote it let me show you the one who sent it forget what it says for now you want to learn who wrote it who wrote it who sent it what a mighty thing suddenly without any kind of noise little peals of thunder there was no flash of lightning there was nothing shocking nothing was shaking just a silent hand writing on the wall and he's more concerned about what's written than who wrote it anyone who's ever had kids understands writing on a wall and as William and I raised six children never once did William walk in the room and say what does that mean and she said who wrote on the wall so you want to know who did it not what does it mean and Daniel is a faithful servant of the Lord what reigning words verse 23 you've exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven I'm telling you who not what and have brought the vessels of his house before you and your nobles and your wives and your concubines have been drinking wine from them you've praised the gods of golf of silver and gold and bronze and iron and wood and stone which do not see do not hear do not understand but the God in whose hand are your life breath and your ways you have not glorified Daniel didn't clear his throat when he interpreted those words he said I want you to know first who said it it's God life to you is a party and God is mocked and the enemy is at the door handwriting is on the wall and only the godly understand only the godly know what's happening only the godly can see when he interpreted those words he gave out clear fragrance you want to pray that it's all the truth you want to pray that someone's going to say oh boy what a hell fire and brimstone preacher he is all he talks about is judgment he was just an honest man God he just said your days are numbered you're not going to make it you're going to be broken honestly clearly plainly I wish I could give you a good sequel to the story I wish I could end like Tom ended I could tell you that this man got saved but he didn't get saved and to the end he got life was a party and that night it was all over his last official act talk about irony was to honor the man of God and he gave his at the end of the day he gave his jewels the world will always end up honoring you they'll laugh along the way I enjoy poetry and recently I came across a poem 274 lines relax I'm not going to read it Edward Arnold 1852 what a tremendous poem and the name of it is Belshazzar's Feast fabulous poem it ends with these words thou hast fashioned idols of thy own gods of silver gods of stone to them thou hast bowed the knee and breathed the breath now let them rise and help thee in the hour of death that night they slew him on his father's throne the deed unnoticed the hand unknown clumsiness and scepterless Belshazzar lay with his robe of pearl round the form of clay as the world in all the glory robe of pearl round the form of clay tragic ending but that's the story of the whirlwind the Christian lives his life before God it's a fragrance of Christ to God among men to some it's a savor of life to life to some it's a savor of death to death and the world represented by Belshazzar who thinks life is a party and God is mocked demon will be enemies at the door the hand write is on the wall and only the Godly understand they still reject and they go down into eternal pain as they get ready to wrap it up let me just say this I know I've gone a little long and you've been patient I appreciate it but Daniel didn't try to be with us you know Daniel's an old man now if I could go up to Daniel at the end of his life and say Daniel you know there's gonna come a day I'm gonna name my second son after you you're famous everybody knows Daniel the man of God could you please tell me your ministry your secret your contribution you know Daniel in come time you know what to say say Daniel tell me now let's go I'm gonna report this in the Jerusalem Gazette I'm ready take a look tell me what have you done in the kingdom of God you know as far as you know what you have to say well thank God I ate lentils I interpreted two dreams some awful long writing got pulled out of Ryan's bed and then I wrote a book about how I ate lentils interpreted two dreams you see that's all we did as far as the record goes this guy didn't even make tapes he didn't have a lot of confidence he didn't have a ministry he didn't have a priest he did nothing he did everything because he knew God and he set his heart to know God and he saw Christ in the book and he walked with liberty and fellowship with God his life was a flavor some responded and got saved and some didn't there's a principle I'll close with one principle one more verse don't forget Philippians right four times Paul said finally my brother and he never got to him he said finally my brother so we can keep saying finally finally my brother there's a principle that helped the Lord trust us the Lord discovered it to us in terms of our family but it also applies in life don't know what to name the principle I'll just call it the principle of no guilt no glory you know when my wife and I got married we sort of had a heart for God but we didn't see we didn't understand the ways of God not that we do now there's still a lot of ground to be possessed I'm not pretending we know everything but it was so hard on my first born son because at that point in our lives we thought God had called us to make men of God out of our boys and to make women of God out of our girls and we were determined to be faithful to the Lord and make men of God out of our boys and women of God out of our girls we didn't know God called us to be men and women of God and so poor David the first born he's always the test case and in order to make him a man of God we put a lot of stuff on him and we forced the Bible down his throat and we ran a lot of things into him and he's going to be a man of God we're going to teach him you know how to be a man of God and then one day God in his grace began to teach us he hadn't called me to make men of God out of our boys and women of God out of our girls he called us to be men and women of God in the presence of our children and by his grace we've been trying to do that now what if my God forbid our son I don't want to say chance let's say it ever happens that one of our six children decide I don't want my parents' God I don't want to accept the world I choose this world no guilt no guilt God has called us to live before him and what if by the good mercy of God one of them two, three all six decide I want my parents' God and I choose the savior for myself no glory the builder of the house has more glory than the house and he that builds all things is God no guilt no glory he just called us to know him no guilt no glory and you know for many years I carried that same burden into soul winning I was taught that it was my duty my responsibility my burden to win everybody I saw I was the better witness I didn't know at that time it says you shall be witnesses not better witnesses you shall be it's what you are and that God called you to be a fragrance of Christ and God among men what if somebody smells the fragrance of my life as I live in union with him and like Belshazzar they turn away no guilt what if somebody smells the fragrance of my life and decide to embrace my Savior and trust him and get saved no glory no guilt no glory you just live in this relationship with him I'm gonna close with the words of Micah you can look if you'd like the book by Micah of the little ones hidden away in the old crest in the back for Sarah says the remnant of Jacob will be among many peoples like dew from the Lord like showers on vegetation which do not wait for man or delay for the sons of men isn't that precious the remnant will be like dew from the Lord you know sometimes we pray to the Lord we just say Lord use me and what we mean is like dew I want to be a blessing use me to refresh people that's verse 7 look at verse 8 and the remnant of Jacob will be among the nations among the peoples like a lion among the beasts of the forest like a lion among the flocks of sheep which if it passes through tramples down and tears and there is none to rest same remnant like dew like a lion you see the prayer is not use me the prayer is make me usable make me usable let me be a man of God without guilt without glory just to know you sometimes you'll be dew sometimes you'll be a lion sometimes you'll be a fragrance of life to life sometimes a fragrance of death to death and I don't want to say it in a way that is going to be dishonorable but that's not your business really how you're used it's your business to know him this is Daniel 1 to 5 they saw him they saw him in the book he began to walk with him and their lives were in prayer tonight Daniel chapter 6 where God wraps this up let's pray together our father we do thank you for Daniel chapter 5 this sad story of of Shadrach of the world of the ruling we have to ask as our girls have sung where would you be in the morning if you had to die tonight how many times your hand has been in our life grace us to be seekers and to respond to your seeking of us teach us to walk as the fragrance of Christ unto God among men work it in us enable us to live without guilt and without glory that you might have all the glory we ask in Jesus name Amen