The Writing On The Wall

The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
- 1 Samuel 16:7

1 King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for a thousand of his nobles and drank wine with them.

2 While Belshazzar was drinking his wine, he gave orders to bring in the gold and silver goblets that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines might drink from them.

3 So they brought in the gold goblets that had been taken from the temple of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines drank from them.

4 As they drank the wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone.

5 Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote.

6 His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his legs became weak and his knees were knocking.
- Daniel 5:1-6

13 So Daniel was brought before the king, and the king said to him, “Are you Daniel, one of the exiles my father the king brought from Judah?

14 I have heard that the spirit of the God is in you and that you have insight, intelligence and outstanding wisdom.

15 The wise men and enchanters were brought before me to read this writing and tell me what it means, but they could not explain it.

16 Now I have heard that you are able to give interpretations and to solve difficult problems. If you can read this writing and tell me what it means, you will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around your neck, and you will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.”

17 Then Daniel answered the king, “You may keep your gifts for yourself and give your rewards to someone else. Nevertheless, I will read the writing for the king and tell him what it means.

18 “Your Majesty, the Most High God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar sovereignty and greatness and glory and splendor.

19 Because of the high position He gave him, all the nations and peoples of every language dreaded and feared him. Those the king wanted to put to death, he put to death; those he wanted to spare, he spared; those he wanted to promote, he promoted; and those he wanted to humble, he humbled.

20 But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him.

21 Then he was driven from the sons of men, his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. They fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till he knew that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and appoints over it whomever He chooses.

22 “But you, Belshazzar, his son, have not humbled yourself, though you knew all this.

23 Instead, you have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven.  
- Daniel 5:13-23 NIV (verse 20 from NKJV)

25 “This is the inscription that was written:
mene, mene, tekel, parsin

26 “Here is what these words mean:
Mene: God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end.

27 Tekel: You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting.
28 Peres [the singular of Parsin]: Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medesand Persians.”
- Daniel 5:25-28

But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
- Luke 11:20

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Mixer

Could you live in a tiny house? Where would you like to put it?

‘Neighborly’ - Daily Devotional

To get the Daily Devotionals delivered to you every morning, text ‘dailydevotional’ to 97000.

1. In Pastor Ken’s 5/12/21 entry, On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand, he reminds us of the shifting sands of morals in our culture. Hebrews 2:1 “We must pay careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.” As you reopen your life post-pandemic, has God gotten your attention about something? His Spirit is still tethered to you like a lifeline - are you resolved to come back to the familiar beach?
2. In Pastor Harry’s 5/14/21 entry, Thermostatic, he gives us some good rocks to help us determine if we have drifted in our relationships and other areas. “Don't let what was once a miracle become commonplace....” Identify some Ows! in your life. Can you trust the Miracle Worker (God!) to help you get the WOW! back?

Sermon Questions

Scripture: Daniel 5: 1-6, 13-28, ; 1 Samuel 16:7; James 1:23; Luke 11:20

1. How are you doing so far in reopening your life, emerging from the fire as a better person?
   • How have people responded to your standing when the “music of Babylon” plays?
   • Are you embracing your fiery furnace refinement and what does that look like?
   • Are you setting down some rocks in your circles? How does that feel?
2. How does knowing that “God can play both sides of the chessboard” help you with understanding that God rules and reigns in the tension of the kingdoms of this world? (globally, nationally, your own community)
3. How do you accept that God’s Word (Scripture) is meant to confront who you are? Are you using Scripture as just a “nailed it” (confirmation; pat on the back), or are you using it as a mirror to be transformed to look more and more like Christ?
4. Is your heart okay? How do you put your heart on the scales and move from pride to humility? Remember the Litmus Test:
   • How many questions do you ask?
   • Look at your consumption when you are squeezed by life.
5. Does God’s judgment of Belshazzar in Daniel 5 create in you a sense of urgency for checking your heart and reading your Bible in a “faithful” way (vs religious)?

Go Deeper - with Goodbook

Dr. Mark Strauss and Pastor Ken Ingold
Week 17 || Chapter 8 || Letters to Gentile Christians (1 & 2 Peter; 1, 2 & 3 John; Jude)

1. What are the underlying themes of each of these letters?
2. What are some examples of false teachings today that can lead the church astray?
3. Why is being grounded in God’s Word so important, both for the early church and for Christians today? What does being grounded in God’s Word look like for you?
4. John gave us three “Tests of Life” in Christ. What are they and how are they a measuring tool of us having “life” in Jesus?

*Are you joining the Goodbook Q&A Zoom on Tuesday evenings? Email ken@thechurchrb.org

Serve

Mark your calendars for the next Good Neighbor Day, Saturday, June 26.

Pray

Pray James 1:23 this week: God, You are my mirror and You show me who I am designed to be. I marvel that You don’t give up on me. So today, by Your Spirit, give me the desire more and more to carve out time for You, to sit with You and Your Word, and to let it wash over me. I don’t want to see myself reflected back in the mirror any longer, but to see the transformed, new me You have planned all along. Make it so, LORD. In Jesus Name. Amen.

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