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Sermon Outline - The Word of God to Belshazzar, Daniel ch.5 v.27

Date23/11/2003
Time18:30
PreacherRev. Maurice Roberts, Inverness
Sermon TitleThe Word of God to Belshazzar
TextDaniel ch.5 v.27
Sermon ID715

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Introduction

  1. This is Belshazzar's feast
  2. God spoke to this king
  3. God speaks to us through it.

  1. WHY GOD WAS JUDGING BELSHAZZAR

    * The picture: a pair of scales.

    1. He got drunk
      Bad but leading to worse. The effects of drink are to:
      1. weaken our reason
      2. weaken our conscience
    2. He became blasphemous
      1. the sacred vessels
      2. the sin of abusing them
    3. He became reckless and proud
      1. pride makes us reckless
      2. their praise was to the wrong God
      OBSERVE: See how God humbled him (v.6)
    4. He turned to the wrong place for help (v.7-9)
      1. godless people cannot help
      2. God can quickly confound men
    5. He sinfully forgot Nebuchadnezzar's experience
      1. See v. 21-22: "thou knewest all this".
      2. The experience explained.
    6. He treated God contemptuously (v. 23)
      APPLICATION: Those who are proud will be abased.

  2. HOW GOD REVEALED HIS JUDGEMENT

    * The "fingers of a man's hand". What an amazing judgement!

    1. God has all sorts of judgements and ways of judging people: EXX.
      1. The Tower of Babel: their words
      2. Sodom and Gomorrah: fire
      3. Noah's Flood: water
      4. Pharaoh's sin: 10 plagues
      5. Herod's pride: worms
      OBSERVE: How foolish to fight against God!
    2. The terror inspired by God's judgement.
      1. the "fingers" - but whose hand?
      2. the words: their meaning?
      3. the ignorance of the "Experts"
      OBSERVE: Beware of ungodly "experts" re the Creation/Bible/the Cross... e.g. W. Barclay on the Feeding of the 5,000.
      OBSERVE: The terror shown in v. 5-7.
    3. The Dire meaning of these words:
      1. MENE: v. 26
      2. TEKEL: v.27 - TEXT
      3. PERES: v.28
      APPLICATION: Notice how this feast began and how differently it ended. It is like life itself (Explain.)

  3. THE WAY IN WHICH GOD CARRIED IT OUT

    * See v. 30-31 (Explain how the city was taken by the Medes).

    1. God had him put to death
      Why? His ungodly life.
      APPLICATION: See Psalm 1: "chaff".
    2. So much for all his pride!
      What a change came over his face when he saw the fingers writing!
    3. So much for all his courtiers!
      They were stunned into silence and no laughter now - no more mirth - no more jesting!
    4. So much for all his gods!
      They were just bits of stone.
      OBSERVE: Only the true God can help us in our troubles.

CONCLUSION

Nothing can save us from God's judgement - except only one thing: To humble ourselves in repentance and to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

This sermon outline has been downloaded from http://www.bible-sermons.org.uk