It's a privilege to open God's Word with this church family. And we got a lot to cover. We're tackling all of Daniel chapter five today. So as we continue in our series. You can go ahead and flip there. Daniel 5. My mom, who's actually here today, she texted me a few days ago. She's like, you know we named you after the Daniel in this book, right? It's, like, cool that you get to preach it. And I was like, oh, that's good, because the whole time I thought I was named after Danny DeVito. But good to know. Better namesake than that. You know, Daniel from the Bible. So kind of a fun moment to just get to bring God's word to you from Daniel today. About as tall as Danny DeVito. But hopefully the resolve of Daniel, you know, that's the goal. Anyway, I wanna lead into our text today by actually talking about something my wife and I never knew about till we were homeowners. And I was surprised we never heard of it before. Cause we've heard about general home inspections. We'd heard about foundation inspections, we'd heard about termite inspections. But the thing no one ever told us about was radon inspections. You guys know about radon? I didn't until a little bit ago. If you're unfamiliar, it's this odorless, invisible gas that it comes from uranium and rocks in the soil. And here's the problem. If radon's present in the soil under your home, it can slowly and visibly destroy lung tissue over time. And actually, it's the second leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S. isn't that kind of crazy? It's a poison that's hard to detect. You. You can't just see it or feel it on your own. And it's potentially lethal if untreated. Now, don't bring that up to just make a public health announcement or give you another home to do list and be like, man, I should really check that out. I'm bringing it up because I think radon is actually very similar to the theme Daniel started drawing our attention to in Daniel 4. And the theme he continues in our text today in Daniel 5. And it's the theme of pride. Last week, if you remember, we talked about the pride of Nebuchadnezzar. And this week, we're talking about the pride again of another king named Belshazzar. Now, just for clarity, Daniel's Babylonian name was Belteshazzar with a T. This is a different guy. This king is Belshazzar without a T. Just so you guys don't get confused about who's being talked about here, I know Jake's been calling Nebuchadnezzar Nebby, so I could call Belshazzar belly if you want, but I don't think anyone wants that, so I'm just going to stick with Belshazzar. But, no, I'm talking about the king here of Babylon, not Daniel. And the point is, when we come onto the Scene of Daniel 5, it's about 30 years later, after Nebuchadnezzar was king. But what we see is that he follows in the exact same footsteps of Nebuchadnezzar and seems to think he was ruling not just Babylon, but the world, just like Nebuchadnezzar before him. And see, what we're going to see as we follow Belshazzar story is this. Pride and radon are incredibly similar. Let me show you how. Just like radon, pride is incredibly poisonous and it's capable of actually destroying a human heart. And what's more, just like radon's difficult to detect if you don't have the right tools for it, pride is incredibly difficult to detect, especially for the person afflicted by it. And see, Belshazzar's pride, it didn't just infect him, it deceived him. It sneaks in like an invisible, odorless gas that will slowly pollute a heart. And this was Belshazzar's deep problem in Daniel 5. And I would take it one step further and say, just like certain areas in our country are radon hotspots, Daniel 4 and 5 reveals to us Babylon was a pride hotspot. Daniel puts Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar story. They're right next to each other intentionally. Because one of the major themes of this book is how do different human hearts respond to the reality of God's sovereign rule and reign over all things? And what they're saying is, if you are a citizen of Babylon, you don't respond with humility and surrender. You respond with pride and rebellion. And if you spend enough time as a citizen of Babylon, this kingdom that was the center of luxury and power and independence, you'd find it incredibly hard to notice or resist the pride that's infected the air everyone breathed there. It infected Nebuchadnezzar. It infected Belshazzar. And the reason it's still important for us to read this chapter this morning and pour over is that thousands of years later, it can still infect us, too. Because here's the truth, the kingdom of Babylon hasn't gone away. Now, sure, you might be like Danny, you know Babylon was conquered hundreds of years ago by Persia. Sure. What I'm saying is that the spirit of Babylon is still alive and well. This spirit of worldly pride, self exaltation, independence, it's the air we breathe. In fact, in Revelation 18, when John describes the spirit of our world that's marked by pride, independence, rebellion, guess what nation he compares it to? Babylon. In Veritas. We are still exiles of in Babylon. And even though this world isn't our home right now, we're living in it. The spirit of Babylon's around us and in us. And that means we're living in the same kind of pride hotspot, Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar did. And if it's really impossible, or nearly impossible to detect pride, here's the problem. How would you even know if it's infected? You see, last week Jake walked us through how do we deal with pride? That this week we're asking a different but related question. How do we even detect pride? Before you deal with something, you have to be able to detect it, notice it, see it. So how do we detect the pride of Babylon in ourselves, this invisible, odorless poison before it destroys us? See, in one sentence, this is the question of this text that the story of Belshazzar is going to show us this morning. What does the poison of pride look like when it's infected a human heart? What does the poison of pride look like when it's infected a human heart? And as we trace Belshazzar's story, we're going to see his pride come into a full on collision with God and his servant Daniel. And we're going to see two clear symptoms of pride up close, fully exposed in all their foolishness. And even though it's not a pretty picture to look at, just this face of pride unmasked without anything between. I'm telling you, it's a mercy. Daniel 5's in our Bibles, because if pride is like radon, you. You could Almost call Daniel 5 a radon detector showing us the substance and danger of pride in human skin. So you can actually heed God's warning and respond to him rightly and differently before it's too late. So with all that said, let's get into the text. We're gonna jump into the first four verses of Daniel five and we're gonna see Belshazzar's pride just on clear, full display. I'm gonna Read this and then kind of break down the scene for you. This is what Daniel 5 says. So we jump into a new scene decades later, after Daniel 4. And this is how Daniel chooses to present King Belshazzar, this new character. This is what he says. King Belshazzar made a great feast for a thousand of his lords and drank wine in front of the thousand. Belshazzar, when he tasted the wine, commanded that the vessels of gold and of silver that Nebuchadnezzar, his father, had taken out of the temple in Jerusalem be brought, that the king and his lords, his wives and his concubines might drink from them. Then they brought in the golden vessels that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his lords, his wives and his concubines drank from them. They drank wine and praised the gods of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood and stone. So this is a pretty wild scene. And in a second, we're going to look at a few things in this text you might not have seen at first, but before I do, I want to. I want to really clearly give you the. The first symptom of pride we see clearly in these four verses and then show you how. Here is the first way you can tell when a heart's been infected by pride. You could say it like this. Pride always challenges God's authority. Pride always challenges God's authority. What Belshazzar does in these first four verses is kind of two things. He challenges God by magnifying his own authority and independence, and he challenges God's authority by mocking God's authority. So first, I want you to notice how he proudly magnifies his own authority in these verses and to kind of see how you need to know the historical background of this scene in Daniel 5. And you need to get that while Belshazzar was throwing this, like, victory celebration party, the kingdom of Persia was actually right outside his city walls, ready to conquer it. And see, this party isn't just about having a good time. It was a political statement, and it was about Belshazzar communicating a message clearly. And this was the message. I'm untouchable. I'm secure. No one's bringing me down from the throne. I don't care if there's an army outside my wall. I'm not worried about it in the slightest bit because I know I'm the one in authority here. And see, from Belshazzar's perspective, he had everything under control. Babylon's walls, they were thought to Be impenetrable. Babylon's storehouses of food, they would last the citizens for years. And Babylon had a river that would keep their supply of water flowing. So a Persian siege, it wasn't a threat at all. So at the exact moment, Belshazzar should have been on high alert, cautious, seeking the one true God's help, like Hezekiah and Josiah and these righteous kings of Israel before him. Instead, he's showboating, getting drunk, and putting on a public spectacle of his power, control and authority. See Belshazzar, he's the same type of prideful man King David describes in Psalm 10 when he says this in the pride of his face. The wicked does not seek him. All his thoughts are, there is no God. His ways prosper at all times. Your judgments are on high, out of his sight. Now catch this. As for all his foes, he. He puffs at them. He says in his heart, I shall not be moved throughout all generations. I shall not meet adversity. Do you see this kind of message of self empowerment and authority and Control in Daniel 5 and in Psalm 10? And the truth is that Belshazzar's prideful self exaltation in this chapter and the prideful man's boasting in Psalm 10, they still reverberate in our culture today. Because like I said at the beginning, we're still in Babylon. This isn't too different from us. You see it in the last two lines of the famous poem Invictus that says this. I am the master of my fate, and I am the captain of my soul. It's a very Babylonian statement. More recently, it echoes in the lyrics to the famous Frank Sinatra song, I Did It My Way. It's a very Babylonian statement, if you think about it. If you listen closely, it reveals the same heart posture of Babylon. He says, I planned each charted course, each careful step along the byway. And more, much more than this, I did it my way. Yes, there were times, I'm sure you knew, When I bit off more than I could chew. But through it all, when there was doubt, I ate it up and spit it out. I faced it all and I stood tall and I did it my way. Very much the spirit of Babylon in that song. And the time I was in high school, it had gotten even worse, because I remember it was in high school that the song by Kanye west came out where he didn't even hide the quiet part. And the song was called I Am a God. Okay, we're just saying it. Cool. And the lyric says, I Know he's the most high, but I'm a close high. What a Babylonian statement, isn't it? And it's kind of easy to kind of be like, yeah, that's wild. You know, yeah, okay, we can kind of get behind this. But do we notice that it still echoes today in almost every Disney song or movie, any fantasy book we read? See, there's nothing more Babylonian and nothing more American than these types of hyper individualistic, self empowering declarations. I did it my way, he's the most high. But honestly, we live like we're a close high. Or if we're honest, sometimes we flip the two. And it's worth thinking about whether or not the Babylonian air has started to shape the script of our own hearts and the lens we look through this world with. Do you live under the assumption that your life is in your hands and you can do with it what you choose? I mean, after all, you worked hard to get that job, to put that money in your bank account. You were influential enough to be friends with that circle of people. You were smart enough to prepare a certain type of life where you're safe from the other, maybe crises other people can fall into. And maybe the song of your heart deep down is actually, I'm the captain of my fate and the master of my soul. What's more, if you're honest, do you get offended when God asks to be the master of your fate and the captain of your soul? Do you get offended when God says, no, no, no, this isn't how this works. It's not about you doing it your way. The question is, will you do it my way? So you can't be Sinatra and do it your way and also be a Christian and do it God's way. At the same time, there isn't room for two people on the throne of your heart. Your pride is way too big for that. And when you buy into and when we buy into the self empowering, hyper individualistic, self glorifying cultural mindset, we challenge God's authority by magnifying our own. And a close look at our lives might show us we're a lot more like Belshazzar than we think. It's pride and it's Babylon, but Belshazzar, he does something even worse than magnify his authority. Because at the exact same time he lifts his own authority up, something opposite has to happen. Look at verse two again with me and let me explain what's going on there. It says this Belshazzar, when he tasted the wine, commanded that the vessels of gold and silver Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the temple in Jerusalem be brought, that the king and his lords, his wives and his concubines might drink from them. See, not only does Belshazzar throw a party that that's magnifying his own authority, his own strength, his own control. At the exact same time, this party has to minimize and mock God's authority. And in his pride, he does something shockingly blasphemous like notice what is actually happening in these verses. He decides to use the holy vessels of God's temple to fill them with Babylonian wine and drink to Babylonian gods. So he's taking Israel's sacred things, things that God calls pure and holy and set apart, and he's using them for his sensuality filled, self worshiping, self glorifying party. To put it in today's context, like here's how crazy this would be. It would be like taking the pulpit of a church home and using it as the table of a drinking game or using your Bible as a surface to take drugs from. It's shocking. And Belshazzar, he wasn't doing this accidentally. He was mocking Daniel's God, challenging Daniel's God, daring him to do something. He's saying, what are you going to do? I'm filling these vessels from your temple with my wine and worshiping my gods. And he thought he was in a spitting match with God, thought he could challenge the one true God and win. You know, one commentator puts it this way, by his blasphemous actions, the king was saying, yahweh, you may have humbled Nebuchadnezzar, but you will never conquer me. He was again singing the song of Psalm 10 where the wicked and prideful man says this. He says in his heart God has forgotten. He has hidden his face. He will never see it. The way Belshazzar was living showed he didn't fear God's power, judgment or authority at all. He made light of it. He didn't expect God to follow through. He put him on the shelf with other gods. He looked at God, this all consuming fire, and he just saw what he thought was dying embers. His foot had stomped out. You know, it reminds me a little bit of a counselor I had when I was a camper at Hidden Acres when I was little, named Brad. Brad was kind of a pyromaniac and fire didn't scare him at all. So that was a bad combination. And pretty much every day when he was bored, this is kind of what he would do when he was sitting down, he would take a lighter out and he'd start kinda like burning little holes in his shirt. And then right when they were gonna spread, he'd like put em out. And even in my 10 year old brain I was like, I don't think this is a good idea. But I didn't say anything. He was the counselor, he knew what he was doing. Until one afternoon when we were in our cabin and I heard Brad scream, get out of the way. And I looked up and he was running down the stairs with a full flaming shirt in his hand. And just like running down and he like he put it on the dirt I think outside put it out. I wonder to this day like how close he was to setting that whole acreage like on fire, you know. Here's my point though. In this story, God is a consuming fire. He means what he says and his authority won't be mocked for long. And when Belshazzar tested God, he was like Brad, setting his shirt on fire one hole at a time. He thought God was under his thumb, but he was playing with fire the whole time. And it's not really a shock that he was about to get burned. And my fear for us is that in our pride as we magnify our authority, as we mock God's authority, we do the exact same thing. And you're like, hold on, Danny, we aren't taking sacred cups from God's temple and filling them with wine of our culture. That would be ridiculous. And I'd say you're right. We just take our bodies that Paul calls a temple of the Holy Spirit and fill them with things we know are displeasing to God. Do we defile our holy eyes with the things we watch our ears with the things we listen to, our hands with the forbidden things we touch? Do we defile our holy feet with the places we walk into so readily? Do we defile our holy lips with the words we speak? Are we drinking the Babylonian wine every day? And every time we do, are we burning little holes in our shirt thinking we can push the bounds of God's authority, that we've got it under control, not knowing sooner or later it's going to catch fire? And see, as we walk through the drama of the rest of this chapter, we're going to see this is exactly what happens. Look with me at verses five through six. This is a crazy scene. Immediately it says the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall. Don't Ever tell me the Bible in the Old Testament is boring? Okay. See it right there. Amen. I love it. So. So this hand appears and writes on the wall of the king's palace opposite the lampstand. And the king saw the hand as it wrote. Then the king's color changed, his thoughts alarmed him, his limbs gave way and his knees knocked together. Think about the, like, complete horror film eeriness of this scene in the middle of this extravagant party. Everything's going well. It's like that first scene of a horror movie when suddenly, like, the music changes, lights go out, and a hand suddenly appears and starts writing on the wall. Now here's what's happening. What this was a symbol of to Belshazzar is the hand of God you have pushed away from and pushed against the hand of God that God's people had always said was mighty to save and judge. It's here, and it is writing a message on the wall. And for Belshazzar. Look at how he responds. The king who just proudly bucked God's authority. He comes completely unglued and undone. Actually, in the original language, the way this was phrased when it talks about his limbs giving way and his knees knocking together is that the knots of his loins were loosed. I'll let you make of that what you will. I'll just say, basically, he's saying Belshazzar pooped his pants. That's what he's saying. Okay, this is what it says. He comes completely unglued and undone. His whole body like, melts before the hand of the God he just denied. And he knows this message can't be good. So what does the king do? Unfortunately, he displays the second symptom of pride in his heart, which is this. If you're taking notes, pride always ignores God's voice. Pride doesn't just challenge God's authority, it also ignores and challenges God's voice. Let me show you two ways he does this. First, he immediately ignores God's voice by ignoring God's prophet. Look at verses 7 through 9. The king called loudly to bring in. And you'd be thinking, who should he bring in? I don't know. Maybe Daniel, the guy who interpreted Nebuchadnezzar's two dreams. Maybe the guy who was still here. No, instead he brings in the enchanters, the Chaldeans and the astrologers. That sounds familiar. And the king declared to the wise men of Babylon, whoever reads this writing and shows me its interpretation shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around his neck, and will be the third ruler in the kingdom. He's saying, maybe I can buy a favorable interpretation here. But then all the king's wise men came in. They could not read the writing or make known to the king. The interpretation. Sounds familiar. Then King Belshazzar was greatly alarmed, and his color changed and his lords were perplexed. Now do you see how his immediate reflex is to try to solve this problem with his own human wisdom and the wisdom of his kingdom rather than Daniel. Daniel's kingdom and Daniel's God, he's trying to solve it by himself. When this prophet had been here for decades, like this wasn't just a slip of the memory for Belshazzar, it was a proud refusal to heed God's voice. And in fact, we're not gonna go there now. But verses 10 through 12 show us he was so pridefully stubborn, he didn't actually bring Daniel in. It took the queen saying, hey, you gotta bring this guy in. Cause you might have forgotten, I don't know. But he's the one who interpreted the people's authority, the people's interpretation before of Nebuchadnezzar. He's clothed with wisdom. You gotta bring him in. And that's what it takes for Belshazzar to finally bring him in to interpret the handwriting. But here's the point. Belshazzar didn't want to hear God's prophet. He wanted to live in ignorance and follow his said rules. He wanted to find people who would let him be his own God. He wanted to find people who would only affirm his desires, actions, and choices. And he wanted to reject anyone who would convict him, challenge him, or remind him who the one true God actually is. And thankfully, our culture, relationships, and personal lives are never like that, Right? But as we move on, we see that Belshazzar doesn't just ignore God's voice by ignoring God's prophet. We see now in the central part of our text that Belshazzar ignores God's voice by ignoring God's warning. We see this as you dig into Daniel's speech in verses 17 through 24, this masterful, just challenge and rebuke of Belshazzar's refusal to listen to the warnings God's placed before him. And in the verse before this, before verse 17, Belshazzar, he tries to buy Daniel's loyalty too. He's like, I'll give you prosperity, power. I'll put a robe on you if you interpret this for me. But Daniel's not having the flattery. And this is what he says in verse 17. I love this. He says, let your gifts be for yourself and give your rewards to another. He says, I know who's actually king. Now, just to take a brief aside, this isn't the main point, but I just want to point out how incredible it is that the same Daniel who refused the king's luxury and power in Daniel 1 at the age of 16 is still refusing the king's luxury and power in Daniel 5 when people believe he was around the age of 80. How incredible is it that Daniel, who resolved to humbly worship his God when he got to Babylon, is still resolving to do the same thing decades later, even while he was still in Babylon? See, Daniel's zeal didn't wear off. His humility didn't wear off. He didn't get tired of holiness and godliness cause he didn't get tired of his goodness, God. And it's worth mentioning for the young people in this room, whether you're in middle school, high school, college, you need to hear this is our prayer and challenge for you. Don't peak in your spiritual life in high school or college. What if you peaked when you're 80? Resolve in your heart today, like walk with God not just for a few years, but for a lifetime. Now, with that being said, let's keep looking at Daniel's words. He says this. He says, I don't want your stuff, but nevertheless I will read the writing to the king and make known to him the interpretation. And Daniel is gonna do that in a moment. But he kind of takes the moment to actually kind of get on his soapbox and take his own chance to rebuke Belshazzar for proudly ignoring God's warning. And this is what he says, and this really is the center of the chapter. Look at this. He says, oh King, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar, your father, kingship and greatness in glory and majesty. And because of the greatness he gave him, all peoples, nations, languages trembled and feared before him, whom he would he killed, whom he would he kept alive, whom he would he raised up, and whom he would he humbled. But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, he was brought down from his kingly throne and his glory was taken from him. He was driven from among the children of mankind, and his mind was made like that of a beast. His dwelling was with the wild donkeys. He was fed grass like an and his body was wet with the dew of heaven until he knew that the Most High God rules the kingdom of mankind and sets over it whom he will. So he recaps Belshazzar's story or Nebuchadnezzar's story in Daniel 4. But here's the kicker, because all of that is leading up to this gut punch. This is what he says. And you, his son Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart. Then catch this. Though you knew all this, but have lifted up your yourself against the word of heaven. And the vessels of this house have been brought in before you. And you and your lords, your wives and your concubines have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, bronze, iron, wood and stone, which do not see or hear or know. But the God in whose hand is your breath and whose are all your ways, you have not honored. Do you see his strong rebuke to Belshazzar here? He says, you saw Nebuchadnezzar lift himself up and get humbled. You knew this. There is no way that this story wasn't burned into your brain and memory. You were warned of where pride would lead, but you still thought you were different. You still thought you were the exception to the rule. You still lifted yourself up against God. You've challenged the authority of the one who holds your breath in his hands. And now the writing's on the wall. Belshazzar ignored God's prophet. He's ignored God's warning. And the sad trajectory of his life of this proud king was one of continuing to make light of God's voice and push it down until he became completely spiritually deaf. Belshazzar. He reminds me of a preacher's story someone heard and then shared with me. Can't remember the preacher's name, but I remember the story clearly, so you're getting it third hand from me. But here's how the story would go. This pastor, he would make visits to an older woman's home to pray with her and check in on her. And one of his first visits there, he got startled by an incredibly loud, like, rumbling. And he was confused at first, but then realized, oh, this woman's house, it's literally right by a train track. And every day at the same time, the train would rumble by. But to his surprise, this woman, she didn't react to the rumbling or the piercing sound of the train honking, hurtling by her house. He's like, maybe she's just hard of hearing. But soon she looked at him and Said, you know, at first the train was loud and it shocked me. But I've gotten used to it rolling by so many times and just ignoring it that sooner or later I realized I don't really hear it at all anymore. And this is exactly what happened to Belshazzar's ability to hear the word of God in his pride. He rejected it. He ignored it. He had chosen his own way so many times that even though it was rolling by, his ears were so closed he couldn't hear it anymore. And that's a terribly dangerous place to be. But I wonder if we're not at least in the same danger today. You know, does your pride ever lead you to ignore God's prophets? Because today God's prophets speak to us clearly, not on a stage, but in Scripture you have God's word. It's literally being preached and spoken right now. It's as loud as a train hurtling across the street from your house. But have you heard it rolling so many times and ignored it that you can't listen and anymore? When God's word is open, do you let it challenge you and convict you and shape the way you live? Are you content to just let it wash over you and then go back to your ordinary way of life? I mean, we literally heard last week this warning that Belshazzar denied, this warning of Nebuchadnezzar's pride. How did you respond to that? Did you even remember? Or has God's warning washed over you, too? You know, when God's word feels offensive, do you try to change it or let God's word change you? Do you stand in judgment over it or let it judge you? Or like Belshazzar, are you avoiding the warnings of his word, of your friends, of your church, and about the areas of your life that might be killing you? And if there are areas of your heart where you are ignoring God's word or warning, it is a sign of undiscovered pride, challenging God's authority, ignoring God's voice, the two symptoms of pride in our text today. And as we look at the end of this king's story, we're going to see how badly Daniel wants to drive home how dangerous this poison of pride is. Because remember the contrast. If Daniel 4 is Nebuchadnezzar's story and it ends in actual, humble restoration, unfortunately, our text today ends a little differently because Belshazzar's story ends in prideful destruction. Look at the last verses in this chapter with me as Daniel interprets the writing on the wall that Belshazzar's servants could not. Starting in verse 25, it says this. And this is the writing that was inscribed Mene, mene, tekel and parson. These were the words on the wall. Now, scholars aren't exactly agreed on why the wise men couldn't interpret it. It could just be they knew what those words meant but didn't know what they pointed to. Could be those words were inscribed without vowels and had to be deciphered. Could be it was in a long, continuous script and needed to be cut and split up the correct way. Not really the point, though, the clear point, is that Daniel has special insight and he understands the meaning of these four words, which in English are numbered, numbered, weighed, and divided. And so he takes those words and discerns God's message. And this is what he says. This is the interpretation of the matter. This is what God's saying to you. Belshazzar, many God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end. Techel, you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting. Peres, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians. So this was God's message in a nutshell. Belshazzar, you've challenged my authority. You've ignored my voice. You've placed yourself high on the throne of your life. This is where it's led to. Your days of your kingdom are numbered. They're actually ending tonight. Your heart has been weighed and found wanting, and your kingdom is about to be broken up and divided. And as we look at the last two verses, we see that's exactly what happens. Says this very emphatically. That very night Belshazzar, the Chaldean king was killed and Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about 62 years old. Now, notice the bookends of this chapter. In such a short amount of time, in the span of one day, one chapter, one moment. Daniel 5 began with this untouchable, boastful king. And Daniel 5 ends with that very king being humbled and brought low and conquered, wiped off the map, just like that. See, pride might be invisible, but it is destructive. And Belshazzar's judgment at God's hand, it proclaims and shouts and heralds a clear statement to anyone who would listen to it. Humble yourselves now before God's throne and enjoy his kingdom forever, or enjoy your kingdom now and be humbled before God's throne forever. So what do we learn from Belshazzar's story? When all said and done, how do we detect the poison of pride in our lives before it's too late. Here's the lesson for God's people today. Detect your pride by asking where you're rejecting God's rule and refusing God's wisdom. Detect your pride by asking where you're rejecting God's rule and refusing God's wisdom. Where are you challenging God's authority as the ruler and king of your life? Where are you pushing down his words to follow your own? Those two questions every time will always reveal where pride is lurking in your heart. And here's the question. It isn't so much so will you find pride still in your heart? The question is, will you repent of it? Will you turn from your desire to be the king of your life and the author of your story, and will you take on a different role instead? Because, Veritas, here's my simple application for you this morning. And it's an application from the lips of Jesus. What do we do with this? I would say this. Trade the heart of a king for the heart of a child. What do I mean by that? Well, look with me at Matthew 18:1 4, where Jesus, he corrects his disciples who are puffed up with pride and had images of thrones and authority in their minds. This is what it says. At that time, the disciples came to Jesus, saying, who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? Very Babylonian thing to say, and calling to him a child. He put him in the midst of them and said, truly I say to you, unless you turn, unless you repent, unless you go a different way and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Now, one commentator on this passage, I think, explains well, like what it means to be a child in this way when he says this. The humility of a child consists of a childlike trust, vulnerability, and the inability to advance his own cause apart from the help and direction and resources of a parent. And do you see how that's the exact opposite of Belshazzar's heart? Having this heart of a child, it looks like having the type of humility that is the exact antidote to the type of pride in our text this morning. Because first looking or having the heart of a child, it looks like instead of conflicting against God's authority, submitting to God's authority, just like a small child exercises humble trust and dependence on their parent, the call is to stop fighting God on the throne of your heart, to let him sit on it, to let him Rule it not as a tyrant, but as your good father to not mock his authority or magnify your own, but surrender to his. And second, having a childlike heart looks like heeding God's wisdom. Let me try to make this practical. When your spouse or your friend or someone in your connection group confronts you with a place where your life is not lining up with God's word or God's voice, do you respond like Belshazzar or a child of God? When you're confronted by God's word about that sin you didn't see before, or that worldly thing you love too much, or that uncomfortable thing God's calling you to do, you get angry and defensive. Or do you get brokenhearted? Is your life ruled by the words of God or the words of your desires? Having a childlike heart looks like heeding God's wisdom. But lastly, and most importantly, Veritas, you need to hear me when I say this really clearly. Having the heart of a child more than anything else looks like hiding in God's Savior. And we have to land here, because if we don't, we aren't reading the Bible as Christians. And here's what I mean. It would be really easy to leave a challenging call against our pride and to just start thinking this way. I just need to be better, need to be humbler. I need to submit more in my life to God. I need to stop taking control of my life. I need to heal Word and receive his warnings. And yes, like we're called to do all those things. But you need to hear that your attempts at change will not save you, and it will not change you by itself. You'll never be perfectly humble in this life, first of all. And second, even if you were, the rest of your sin still cries out against you. Hear me. You aren't saved by your humility and you never can be. And if that's the case, at first you're like man. Then are we just in the same boat as Belshazzar? Is God's judgment being pronounced over us for our pride? Because we all know deep down it's there. If I'm not saved by my humility, what do I do? But here's the answer. You are saved by someone's humility. You're saved by the humility of a better Daniel, a better Daniel who would also reject the robes of a king and be exiled from his throne. A better Daniel who didn't just have the wisdom of God, but was the wisdom of God and revealed how you could be made Right with the Father, A better Daniel, who perfectly submitted to God's will and authority when you did not, and perfectly obeyed His Father's voice when you did not. And a better Daniel, who actually pronounces not judgment over your pride, but forgiveness because he suffered for it in your place and gives you his perfect humility. So when God the Father looks at you, he doesn't see, see the heart of Belshazzar, he sees the heart of Jesus. You are saved by the humility of Jesus Christ, who took on the form of a servant, humbled himself to the point of death, even death on a cross for you. And the question for you is, when you see that type of humility, will you humbly receive it open handedly? It requires actually having a child's heart because it requires admitting you're dependent and you cannot save yourself. It requires confessing you are unable to advance your own cause and you are far more dependent and vulnerable than you thought. It means the death of your ego, the death of your own kingdom, the death of the towers to yourself and monuments you have built up. But you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven any other way. Can you confess along with the words of the hymn Rock of Ages and say nothing? In my hand I bring simply to the cross, I cling naked, Come to thee for dress helpless, look to Thee for grace to the fountain foul I fly, Wash me, Savior, or I die. Can you say that? And if so, you can escape the judgment on Belshazzar. You can experience the safety and security Daniel had even during his exile in Babylon. And you can experience actually the type of transformation and heart change that leads to genuine humility. Because if Jesus saved you by his humility, he also changes you and gives you his humility as you become more like Him. The answer is not just doing more and trying harder. The answer is looking to Jesus, hiding in him and being changed by him day by day. So humbly, come to Jesus with open hands and a broken heart and he will shield you from the judgment of God. He will safely bring you to his kingdom and he will give you the heart of humility you cannot make on your own. Veritas. As we look back one last time on this story, Belshazzar and Daniel, two diametrically opposed characters in this chapter. I just want to leave you with a question to consider as you're thinking about how painful it would be to admit your own pride, to tear down your kingdom, to submit to God's authority and voice. Here's my question for you. When you think about it. Who is more free in this story? The king of the world's greatest empire? Or the humble, powerless exile? Who is more free? The king who challenged God's authority? Or the servant who faithfully surrendered to it over all things? This powerful king who proudly challenged God's word? Or the powerless prophet who proclaimed God's word? And see, it's compelling to me that throughout the Book of Daniel, you would notice there's a theme. These kings come and go, no matter how high their thrones are. Nebuchadnezzar comes and goes. Belshazzar comes and goes. Darius comes and goes. We're gonna see next chapters, but Daniel's still standing. See, humility is the path to true glory, not pride. Because what John Piper says is true when he says this. The glory of man is not to be God, but to know God. The glory of man is not to be God, and we have to get that out of our heads. The glory of man is actually to know God, to humbly surrender to God. That is the path of true freedom. To live as a king, following your own authority and your own voice. I'm just telling you, it is completely crushing. And if you say, I am the captain of my fate, I am the master of my soul, that ship you're the captain of is gonna shipwreck sooner, later. But if you let the better captain lead you, guide you, he will safely take you to safe harbor. So humbly surrender to God's rule this morning, humbly accept his wisdom over your life, and humbly, above all else, hide in God's son. That's the antidote to the poison of pride. Will you pray with me, oh, Lord? As we look at Daniel 5, the reality is it's not a flattering portrait. And the hard thing is, it's not just an unflattering portrait of a king from thousands of years ago. It's an unflattering portrait of us, but at the exact same time, God. It is a portrait of a better Daniel, a humbler exile, and the one who actually right now, is ruling and reigning over all things. Because the one who was humbled and died is now exalted, who carries our salvation in his hand and dispenses it to his children. Lord, I pray that we would be children right now. Children who surrender to your throne and rule, children who hear your voice and respond, and children who hide in your son. Lord, nothing in our hands we bring to the cross. We cling, we come to you for dress. We are begging for your grace. And right now, O Lord, we're flying to the fountain saying, wash me, Savior, or we die. Wash us of our pride. Clothe us with humility of your son, and may we be able to now be free, because we now are living the way we are meant to. Not to be God, but to surrender, submit and love God with our heart, soul, mind and strength. So that may that be how we worship right now. A humble people who are thinking not at all of ourselves, but are so captivated by the glory of the gospel that we worship you, praise you, and are glad to be small because it means you are big. We love you, Lord. Accept the worship of your children now in your name. Amen.