Welcome back to our summer Bible study on The Book of Daniel, called Thrive. In this study, we are learning that regardless of what life throws at us and how difficult our circumstances may be, we can thrive, not just survive, in this challenging world.  Last week, we worked our way through Daniel Chapter 4, a beautiful chapter which is quite literally King Nebuchadnezzar’s testimony.  It is also a crucial warning for us about pride and the dangers of success, comfort, and prosperity.  I hope you had time this past week to read through Daniel 4; it’s such an awesome chapter of Scripture, and while we covered a lot of Scripture last week, we didn’t have the time to read through it line by line.  However, the Chapter is a real gift, the turning point of Nebuchadnezzar’s life. Because he shared this with us, we have a major opportunity to learn and grow from what he went through, rather than having to learn this painful lesson on pride the same way he did.  Learning from life, people, and teachings and applying those lessons to our lives without feeling the pain of walking through them ourselves is a gift. Quite frankly, it is an awesome life skill to have, and we will see today in Daniel 5 that some have the ability to learn and grow from what they know or are being taught, and some don’t…in fact, Scripture talks about this a lot, and would call this life skill, this incredible gift in our lives, wisdom.  We have studied wisdom in the past. Do you remember what wisdom is?  It’s more than just knowing things or being intelligent.  Here’s the definition of wisdom.  

Wisdom is knowledge AND the capacity to live it out.  

Without getting too far ahead of ourselves here, listen to what Solomon has to say about the incredible gift wisdom is and can be in our lives. 

Proverbs 19:20 Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise. NIV

Proverbs 1:7 Start with God — the first step in learning is bowing down to God; only fools thumb their noses at such wisdom and learning. MSG

Solomon often reminds us of the importance of humbly listening, learning, and living out what we learn, as well as the gift that wisdom is in our lives. Unfortunately, he also points out how most people respond to teaching and typically describe them as prideful or fools, which sounds a little rough, but we will meet one of these people today in Daniel 5.

Proverbs 12:15 A fool thinks he needs no advice, but a wise man listens to others. TLB

Proverbs 23:9 Don't bother talking sense to fools; they'll only poke fun at your words. MSG

Well, today in our story, we are going to meet someone who, unfortunately for him and all of Babylon, fits the description of a fool we see here from Solomon.  So, let’s get into our study of Daniel Chapter 5.  Because it’s another very famous story, have you ever heard someone use the old saying, “The Writing is on the Wall?”  It’s a well-known saying that originates from this story.  I would also like to start by saying this, just like Daniel 4, we are covering an entire chapter of Scripture today, which means we will not get through all of it line by line, and we will be talking and summarizing a lot of it, so I would encourage you to read through Daniel 5 this week, and look into what hits your heart and mind as you read it, because Scripture is all here for us to learn and grow, to not just accumulate knowledge but to take that knowledge and live it out…to learn and grow and experience our best lives possible, that’s wisdom. You know, there is something many people lose sight of when we talk about God or His Word, and learning from it, and living out what we learn, and it’s this…God wants you to live your best life, He wants you to enjoy your life, and the Bible is our guide to all of that and more. Well, I should say, it’s a guide for the wise, who read it, use it, listen to it, accept it, and learn from it.   

So, here are some important things to know as we begin reading Daniel 5.  First, we are taking a significant time jump in our story.  Daniel is an older man now.  King Nebuchadnezzar has passed away and has been dead for around 23 years.  With his passing, the Babylonian Empire has been on a slow decline; it’s showing signs of weakness, and other big empires are taking notice that the mighty leader is gone, and there may be something to take advantage of here.  The King’s son Nabonidus was now the King, but it wasn’t going well.  We actually don’t even get his name in Scripture; we only know him from history and archaeology, as he is never mentioned in the story. Still, he was Nebuchadnezzar’s successor, and he seems to be making a mess of things. He leaves his son (King Nebuchadnezzar’s grandson), Belshazzar, in charge of the Kingdom, so while he is never officially named King, Belshazzar is the acting King sitting on the throne and running things in his dad’s place, and is called the King in Daniel 5.  Also, as you read Daniel 5, you will see Belshazzar referred to as the son of Nebuchadnezzar, but to me, that is like calling Jesus the son of David.  I wanted you to know these two facts because, at times, these are two things that have tripped some people up who try to poke holes in Scripture.  However, I’d add that this particular story is very difficult to poke holes in due to the numerous historical documents and findings that have been uncovered. Science and history have proven that all of this took place, right down to the day it happened.  As we study Scripture and events that occurred so long ago, there aren’t many instances when we can pinpoint the exact date a story took place, but the story of Daniel 5 and the Handwriting on the Wall occurred on a monumental day in History: October 12, 539 BC.  This is the day the Babylonian Empire falls to the Medes and Persians.  Remember, I told you that since King Nebuchadnezzar’s death, the empire had been in decline, and its enemies were taking advantage of this, which all comes together on this day.  The Medes and Persians have surrounded Babylon; they are being led by a great war hero of History, named Cyrus the Great. I wanted to mention Him because God spoke through the Prophet Isaiah 130 years before this and said that this day would come…describing in detail what would take place in Babylon and that a man named Cyrus would make it happen…this prophecy spans around 15 chapters of Isaiah, but here are a few verses…

Isaiah 45:1 This is what the Lord says to Cyrus, his anointed one, whose right hand he will empower.  Before him, mighty kings will be paralyzed with fear. Their fortress gates will be opened, never to shut again. 2 This is what the Lord says: "I will go before you, Cyrus, and level the mountains. I will smash down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. NLT

This is wild, and we will see Belshazzar literally paralyzed with fear today.  God even explained how Cyrus would get through Babylon’s big walls and incredible defenses!

Isaiah 44:26-28 …I say to Jerusalem, 'People will live here again,' and to the towns of Judah, 'You will be rebuilt; I will restore all your ruins!' 27 When I speak to the rivers and say, 'Dry up!' they will be dry. 28 When I say of Cyrus, 'He is my shepherd,' he will certainly do as I say. He will command, 'Rebuild Jerusalem'; he will say, 'Restore the Temple.'" NLT

So, if anyone was paying attention, Babylon had a shot to be ready for this, because here’s where things are.  The Medes and Persians, led by Cyrus, have surrounded the city of Babylon.  But remember, Babylon is the most incredible city on the planet, and they believe their walls are completely impenetrable.  However, there was one weak spot in the walls: the Euphrates River runs underneath them.  So, what does Cyrus do?  Isaiah told you what he was going to do there in verse 27!   He and his army surround the city, and out of sight of the Babylonians, they are digging channels and diverting the water of the river (drying up the river like God said he would) so they can walk right under the walls and into Babylon…and that is exactly what is about to happen.  With all that said, let’s get into this story.

Daniel 5:1 Many years later King Belshazzar gave a great feast for 1,000 of his nobles, and he drank wine with them. 2 While Belshazzar was drinking the wine, he gave orders to bring in the gold and silver cups that his predecessor, Nebuchadnezzar, had taken from the Temple in Jerusalem. He wanted to drink from them with his nobles, his wives, and his concubines. 3 So they brought these gold cups taken from the Temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. 4 While they drank from them they praised their idols made of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone. 5 Suddenly, they saw the fingers of a human hand writing on the plaster wall of the king's palace, near the lampstand. The king himself saw the hand as it wrote, 6 and his face turned pale with fright. His knees knocked together in fear and his legs gave way beneath him. NLT

So, let’s stop and talk here.  First, if your enemies are surrounding you, how do you respond?  This is wild to me, Belshazzar doesn’t get prepared for battle, he and his nobles throw a huge party, they get drunk, and on top of getting drunk, they think it would be funny to get all the sacred objects of God that his Grandpa King Nebuchadnezzar took from the Israelites sacred temple years ago and drink out of them.  And it’s at this moment that we get the Handwriting on the Wall, and Belshazzar is terrified.  Just like his Grandpa’s dreams, none of his astrologers or advisors could interpret what was written on the wall, everyone is panicking, and finally Belshazzar’s grandma comes after hearing what had taken place and reminds them that Daniel has helped them in similar moments of interpretation in the past, so they called on Daniel to interpret the writing on the wall, the King promises him wealth and positions if he can interpret it, which Daniel has no interest in but he does interpret the writing for him—explaining just like he did twice with King Nebuchadnezzar that this is not good news.  In fact, it’s letting him know that you and Babylon are done…so if it wasn’t scary enough, Daniel lets them know, God is saying it’s over.

Daniel 5:25 "This is the message that was written: Mene, Mene, Tekel, and Parsin. 26 This is what these words mean: Mene means 'numbered'—God has numbered the days of your reign and has brought it to an end. 27 Tekel means 'weighed'—you have been weighed on the balances and have not measured up. 28 Parsin means 'divided'—your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians." NLT

So, this is not good, and it all happens on that same day.  Belshazzar gives Daniel a promotion for doing what he asked, but this chapter ends with the end of the Babylonian Empire, which, in their drunken state, didn’t even put up a fight as the Medes and Persians walk under the walls through the dry river bed.  We get just one sentence on what took place, which for all this incredible empire was, you would have thought it would have been a much different ending, but it ends without much of a fight at all.

Daniel 5:29 Belshazzar did what he had promised. He robed Daniel in purple, draped the great gold chain around his neck, and promoted him to third-in-charge in the kingdom. 30 That same night the Babylonian king Belshazzar was murdered. 31 He was sixty-two years old. Darius the Mede succeeded him as king. MSG

This is wild, isn’t it?  A massive moment in History, the fall of the greatest empire to date, and just like that, Babylon is no more.  As I prepared this message, I kept thinking about what we would talk about today and how people typically teach this area of Scripture.  We could look at the arrogance and pride of Belshazzar and the dangers of comfort and prosperity as he sits in the palace behind what he believes is the safety of the giant walls of Babylon, many teach on this chapter that way, but we just went over the dangers of pride and success in Daniel 4.  We could talk about judgment day, and the fact that we will all face a day of reckoning, just like Belshazzar and Babylon did here, but hey, it’s the 4th of July weekend, and maybe we should keep it lighter.  Well, since it’s a holiday weekend, maybe we should talk about the dangers of alcohol, and large drunken parties, and making wise and healthy choices…and I guess in a way we will hit that some.  But you know, to me, there is this one thing that Daniel says to Belshazzar that I can’t stop thinking about, it’s something we see in people every day, and it leads us back into that concept of wisdom we touched on as we got started today.  Daniel comes before Belshazzar, sees the writing on the wall, looks him write in the face and reminds him of what we studied last week in Daniel 4, and how pride caused Nebuchadnezzar to fall in such a painful way, and how humility restored him, and how King Nebuchadnezzar wanted the entire world to know what happened so we could learn from his pain…but Belshazzar just hasn’t.  Here’s the line that I can’t stop thinking about in Daniel 5…

Daniel 5:22 "You are his successor, O Belshazzar, and you knew all this, yet you have not humbled yourself. NLT

Daniel says to him, "Belshazzar, you know better! You know what happened. You have been told and retold the story, and you just didn’t care to learn from them. You knew all of this but just kept living how you wanted to live.”  Ha, did you ever hear this joke about three people with questionable intelligence? Three people walked into a bar. You would have thought the third one had ducked!"  Well, Belshazzar is the third guy who walks forehead-first right into the same bar that his dad and grandad have walked into before him.  He knew better, but didn’t care to live differently, and it all comes to an end.   Belshazzar would be defined in Solomon’s world as the fool. Remember what the gift of wisdom is in our lives?  It’s not just knowing what to do, it is knowledge AND the capacity to live it out.  This is clearly lacking in Belshazzar’s life, and it leads to the most epic fall that could be fathomed, his death, and the death of the Babylonian Empire.

So, let’s talk today, because I think we have a lot more in common with Belshazzar than you might think.  We read this and think, ok, no one would sit around and have a party while the enemy armies surround you!  But let’s talk because we often act the same way in life.  We often act like life is complicated, but if we are truly honest and slow down to think about it, life is actually pretty simple. And most of the time, we know exactly what we should be doing to live the lives we say we want to live.  We know better, just like Belshazzar here.  A few weeks ago, I shared one of my favorite quotes I have found lately with you. 

“Success is not a matter of mastering subtle, sophisticated theory but rather of embracing common sense with uncommon levels of discipline and persistence. “ Patrick Lencioni

I love this quote.  If we want to live our best lives, it’s not super complicated, and it’s not about mastering sophisticated theory, but what?  Embracing common sense, with uncommon levels of discipline and persistence.  This is the key to living your best and healthiest life, but it’s rare to see people actually living their best and healthiest lives.  We know what we should do, but living it out seems to be a whole other thing. 

You know, in general, we all want to live our best lives.  We aren’t getting out of bed each day trying to be unhealthy.  We want to be healthy in all aspects of our lives. I want to talk with you today about this, because so often we seem to be searching for the secrets we need to unlock to experience our best and healthiest lives. At the same time, deep down we already know what we should be doing, especially as Christians who have the Bible as a manual of living, a guide to help us experience our best lives possible. So, let’s think this through and look at different areas of our lives and answer this question.  What are some things we know we should do, that we aren’t doing?  What do we know we should be doing that we just aren’t doing anything about?  Are we living out what we know?  Let’s discuss this and explore the concept of wisdom in the key areas of our lives.

Let’s start with our physical health.  How many of us wish we were healthier physically than we currently are?  I think that almost all, if not all, of us would say we would like to be physically healthy.  Now, here's what's interesting: most, if not all, of us would say we aren’t where we'd like to be when it comes to our physical fitness levels.  But, and I’m not trying to be insensitive here, does anyone not know what they should be doing to be physically fit or in better shape than they currently are?  We know we should eat healthy foods, and that as we get older, we can’t eat like we did when we were younger.  We know that we should exercise.  We know that we should rest.  We know what we should put into our bodies and what we should not.  We know what we need to do; it’s not a mystery, it’s not super complicated. Just like Belshazzar, we know better.  As I write that, I keep thinking of a book that Ken introduced to us a couple of years ago, called "Change or Die" by Allen Deutschmann.  The author researched the challenges humans face with change, even when we know it will benefit us or improve our lives, and his research revealed that when people are confronted with the reality of ‘change or die’, 90% of them don’t change.  Think about that.  When offered the chance to change or die, nine out of ten people don’t make the changes.  He looked at people needing heart surgery and spoke with doctors who told their patients that they must “switch to a healthier lifestyle” if they want to keep the pain from coming back, avoid repeat surgery, and stop the disease before it kills them. But very few change.  They did a study of coronary bypass grafting patients. They discovered that two years after the surgery 90% of them had not changed their lifestyle, even knowing they have a disease that could be terminal if they don’t make changes and find health.  So, think about that, 90% of people see their enemies surrounding the city just like Belshazzar and just keep on partying, even when they know better!

Let’s talk about our financial health.  You know, this is another area of our lives that many of us struggle in, but deep down, it’s another area that isn’t as complicated as we make it.  Yes, we have issues come up that can lead us to financial difficulty, but for the most part, there are some principles with our finances that can keep us in a good spot, and again, I’m not sure they are a big secret.  Here’s the big principle that Dave Ramsey is famous for helping us understand.  I remember sitting in Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace Class years ago, thinking Wow, this is not complicated stuff!  If we don’t have the money for something, we should not buy it.  That’s the big principle! Yet so many of us know this and know what we need to live compared to what we want, and in our lives, yet we struggle financially and are burdened with debt.  We know what we should do, but doing it is a whole other thing.  We want to live our best lives, but to do that, we have to embrace common sense with uncommon levels of discipline and persistence. 

Let’s talk about our mental and emotional health.  Mental and emotional health issues are becoming more and more prevalent in our world today.  We have talked about the fact that anxiety is actually called the fastest-growing disease in the Western World.  Those issues are real, and I’m not trying to diminish the pain and challenges we face in these areas of our lives, which have only grown since the Pandemic in so many ways, but let’s talk about it because while we don’t want to struggle with our inner worlds, we do many practical things that only add to the issues.  We know we need rest, yet we work and rush through life and never rest.  We know that when we place negative things into our hearts and minds, negative things will come out, and then we spend our time staring at negative things, wondering why negative things come out of our lives.  We know that screen time leads to restlessness and many other inner health concerns, yet we spend more and more time staring at screens than ever before.  We know God designed us to do life with people, yet we willingly isolate or convince ourselves that life is easier if we do it alone.  We know the dangers of drugs and alcohol and all the pitfalls that come with them, and that in the end they aren’t helping with our emotional or mental state, but we keep on self-medicating to take the edge off anyway we can.  On top of all that, I sit with a lot of people who can be either disappointed or even offended when I start discussing practical things we can do to alleviate our pain.  Do you see it?  It’s not that we don’t know what to do, we do…it’s embracing those common-sense things and living them out with uncommon levels of discipline and persistence that is the thing.  

Let’s talk about our spiritual health.  As Christians, we know what we should do to experience our best lives with God.  We know we should spend time with God.  We recognize the importance of prioritizing God in our lives.  We know the importance of spending time in God’s Word, in prayer, and in worship.  We have the Bible to learn from, so we can truly experience our best lives possible.  We recognize the importance of all the Spiritual Practices God gives us to do, but do we engage them?  Do we live them out?  It’s wild, but so often, while we know we should do these things and would tell others they should too, we aren’t willing to live our lives for God.  We may clean up some behaviors, but it’s obligation and behavioral modification, it’s never about allowing God full access to all of us…and we walk through life frustrated with the fact that we aren’t experiencing everything Christianity seems to advertise.  Do you see it?  If I asked you if you should rest as God commanded, every Christian knows that they should, and would say we should, but if we are honest, more don’t do this than actually do.

In a recent study done by Lifeway Research, it was found that 44% of the churchgoers surveyed say they spend time with God daily.  17% say they do get along with God more than once a week, and around 7% say around once a week. 

Less than half of Christians do what 100% of Christians know they should be doing.  Do you see it?  If I asked you if you should spend time with God on a daily basis, there isn’t a Christian who would say they don’t know the answer to that. We know what we should do, just like Belshazzar, we know better, and deep down, we know why our faith life isn’t as vibrant or healthy as we want it to be. Still, we keep moving forward, wondering what is wrong, maybe blaming others, or our circumstances, or our leaders for what we aren’t experiencing in our faith…but deep down, just like Belshazzar, we know what we should do. We know what must happen for us to experience our best lives possible: it’s embracing that common sense with uncommon levels of discipline and persistence.  We seem to struggle with living out what we know, we defend how we live, and struggle to get close to God, while staying in control of all aspects of our lives, and it’s tough to see a way through, and without repentance, I’m not sure there is one.   This stuff is tough, and without a humble, open heart to live differently, I don’t think it will happen regardless of what we know.  We often say one thing but live another, and that is a tough spot to be when our hearts are defending a life, still, that we may tell others we don’t want to live.  This is why repentance is such a big deal…I saw this quote the other day, and I think it hits right in line with the concept of knowing what to do versus living it out, and hits right at the heart of the issue.

“Sin can’t be defeated in our lives, if it’s still being defended in our hearts.” Richard Delamora

As we look into the story of Belshazzar and the Handwriting on the Wall, we see a genuine reflection of our humanity in the way he acts here.  While we would like to think that if we were in his spot, and knew what our grandfather had endured, and knew that invading armies are outside our doors that we would not act like he did on this fateful day when the Babylon falls, but in so many aspects of our lives…this is what we do.  I would take it a step further and say something today that may be difficult to hear, but I love you too much not to say it to you.  We all know that a day is coming when we will stand before Jesus and answer for everything we have done or failed to do in our lives.  For so many people, this day is scary and intense to think about, for many others it’s just not something we are worried about as we continue to go out into the world and live each day for that day, never a thought on our hearts and minds about all of eternity to come and where we will spend it.  But for us Christians, we know what we should do, and we know with 100% certainty that the day will come when we stand before Jesus, and the goal is to hear “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”  We do not want to hear, “depart from me, I never knew you.”  We know this, it’s not hidden from us, but knowing it will happen and being ready for it are two completely different things.  It’s amazing because on that day, when we stand before Jesus, eternity will matter greatly to us…but deep down, if we stop and think that through, we know that today too, don’t we?  We know what we are to do to stand there excited and expectant on that day…yet for so many of us, we simply are not doing it.  We know better, just like Belshazzar.  Listen, I know it’s a holiday weekend, and I’m not trying to dampen the mood here, but I want to leave us with some Scripture and then some time and space to reflect on this lesson today. 

James 4:17 Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it. NLT

Listen, we love you so much, and we want you to experience your best life possible. You have to see this today.  You can live your best life possible.  It’s not hard, it’s not complicated or hidden from you.  It’s all there for you, but none of it happens simply by having knowledge of what to do; it all happens when you take that knowledge and apply it to your life.  You see, that is wisdom, and it is the most essential gift or quality that you can have in your life, because it means you can take what you learn, know, and live it out.  As we close today, I want you to take some time, both today and throughout the week, to slow down and be honest with yourself.  I want you to reflect on your life and think through these key areas we looked at today.  Take it one at a time because all these areas of your life tie together to give you your life experience.  Look at your physical health, your emotional and mental health, your financial health, and your spiritual health, and ask yourself this question.  Am I where I want to be in this area of my life?  If the answer is yes, great, keep it up, but if the honest answer is no, the second question is massive.  Ask yourself, what are some things I know I should be doing that I’m not doing in this area of my life?  Write it out, journal about it, and then ask God to give you the power, energy, and focus to embrace those things you know you should be doing with uncommon levels of discipline and persistence.   This is how you live your best life…but deep down, you already knew that.