Ignoring the Warning Signs
Daniel 5
Here’s what I’ve concluded warning labels say about companies...
A. Most truly don’t want consumers to be injured
B. All want to avoid lawsuits...like the infamous McDonald’s hot
coffee case several years back
C. Many must think we are 40-watt bulbs in 100-watt sockets
D. They are only issuing warnings in response to things someone
has, in fact, done, therefore validating reason C
Here are a few actual warning labels found on consumer products
-Duraflame fireplace
log: "Caution—Risk of Fire."
-Superman costume:
"
-bottle of hair
coloring: "Do not use as an ice cream topping."
-baby stroller:
"Remove infant before folding for storage."
-dog shampoo: “The contents of this bottle
should not be fed to fish."
-jetski: “Riders of personal watercraft may suffer
injury due to the
forceful
injection of water into body cavities...”
-sharpening
stone: "Warning: knives are
sharp!"
-rat poison: "Has been found to cause cancer in
laboratory mice."
-rubber ball: “Choking hazard: This toy is a small
ball."
-case of
hammers: "May be harmful if
swallowed."
-package of
peanuts: “"Warning: May contain
nuts."
Now...you would think
that all of this would go without saying...but
how many times have
you watched in utter disbelief as someone
disregarded clear
warnings?
-road signs
cautioning them to slow down
-obvious signs
they should see a doctor
-symptoms their
marriage is suffering
-evidence their
child is involved in dangerous behavior
-moral failure of
respected leaders or close friends
It’s sad that we haven’t changed a bit...because you’d think
that as
history rolls along
we would get smarter...that we’d
learn from the
mistakes of
others—perhaps we believe we are different, that we’re
immune from
consequences—but the reality is that, as a rule, we
simply don’t learn
from the past...leading us to make the same or
even worse mistakes
Remember the parable Joe read earlier from Luke 16?
-how the rich man
begs for a chance to warn his brothers
--Read Luke 16:27-31
---Jesus is
right on the mark with that last statement
----how
many times have you heard people remark, “If God
would just give me a sign...”?
-tragically the
parable also foreshadows the response of countless
millions who do know about Someone who was raised from the
dead...and yet
they refuse to believe
This morning we turn again to the book of Daniel
-in this story of
the Jews in exile in
--Daniel and his
friends have remained faithful to God...while God,
in turn, has
used them in unusual, but powerful ways
-as we open chapter 5, we notice a big change: there is a new king
on the
throne...and he obviously knows how to throw a party
Read Daniel 5:1-9
Hearing the commotion, the queen advises Belshazzar to
summon
Daniel...assuring
the king that this exiled Jew will be able to explain
the meaning of the
handwriting on the wall
-so the king does
just that...he makes the same lucrative offer, but
Daniel flat out
refuses the king’s gifts...instead, he gets right
down to
business
Read Daniel 5:18-24
First, Daniel makes it clear that the rule and reign
Nebuchadnezzar
once enjoyed was his
only because God had given it to him
-then Daniel
reminds Belshazzar how the former king had failed—
how his pride, his
abuse of power, and his disregard for God led
to his
downfall...but then, while in his own personal spiritual exile,
Nebuchadnezzar
acknowledged the one, true God
-v. 22 is the most condemning à
But you his son, O Belshazzar,
have not humbled yourself, though you
knew all this.
-next Daniel
outlines how the current king has repeatedly and
willfully
sinned against God
--the end of v. 23 à ...you
did not honor the God who holds in
His hand your life and all your
ways.
Here’s the thing: Belshazzar
had been warned!
-he had known the
sins of his father...he had watched his demise...
he had heard his
repentance...
--he could
probably recite his memorable hymn of praise to God
His
dominion is an eternal dominion;
His
kingdom endures from generation to generation.
All
the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing.
He
does as He pleases with the powers of heaven
and the peoples of the earth.
No one
can hold back His hand or say to Him:
“What have you done?” [Daniel 4:34b-35]
No one
can hold back His hand—how prophetic!
-as the hand now
writes the mysterious message on the wall, I can’t
help but think
those words came to mind
--but far more
scary than the spooky hand is Daniel’s ominous
interpretation of the four Aramaic words
Read Daniel 5:25-28
Our days are numbered (v. 26)
-we may fool
ourselves into thinking that we are in control
--we watch what
we eat...we exercise...we wear our seatbelts...we
don’t run
with scissors...and we believe we’re indestructible
-some of us might
even know we have sins that need to be forgiven
...we might see
the need for a Savior...we might sense our need to
surrender our
lives to God
--but we figure we have all the time in the
world
-but David was right
à
As surely as the Lord
lives...there is only a
step between me and death.
--nothing has
changed in 3000 years
-Hebrews 9:27 à
Man is destined to die once, and
after that to
face judgment.
God’s warning to Belshazzar reminds us in no uncertain terms
that
judgment is
coming (v. 27)
-we can mess around with our lives,
with eternity...we can ignore
the warnings...but it will not diminish
the certainty nor the finality
of God’s judgment
Read Revelation 20:11-15
And as
John’s vision of final judgment reveals, as well as Daniel’s
interpretation of the message on the wall
makes clear...the results of
of God’s verdict are unarguable and inescapable (v. 28)
But for me
the most amazing aspect of this story is that Belshazzar
does not respond à
Read Daniel 5:29
-here is this hand writing words of
judgment on the wall
--but
Belshazzar does nothing...he doesn't repent/turn
-it’s as if the king says, “Thanks, Daniel,
that was great.
Congratulations! You are now the man...well, ok, the #3 man.”
Back in
chapter 4, king Nebuchadnezzar received a similar warning
-he did turn to God
--that made eternity of difference
The final
lesson from this haunting story is that we will
suffer
consequences for our choices
-they may come suddenly, without any
further warning
-or
they may seem to happen slowly, almost unnoticed
-but regardless of their apparent speed, the
outcome is sure
--did you hear any exceptions in Hebrews
9:27? à
...man is
destined to die once, and after that
to face judgment
God's
warnings are always judgment and grace rolled into one
-remember Jonah?
--he was sent to the city of
---In
forty days, Ninevah will be destroyed.
--had Belshazzar been king of Ninevah in
Jonah’s day, they would
have been as good as dead
---but when the real king of Ninevah heard Jonah’s warning,
he reacted with a holy fear à
Read Jonah 3:6-9
Do you see
the difference between the two kings?
-both were given a clear warning
--king of Ninevah turned to God à
Read Jonah 3:10
--king of
Has God
given you a warning?
-for
example, let’s say a couple having is sex before married
--she thinks she's pregnant...later turns out
to be "false alarm"
---are they "lucky"...was it just a
"close call"?
---or
have they been warned by God?
-what
they do next reflects how they see it
--if they stop, confess/repent, then they
recognize it as warning
--if they continue in their sin, then
they’ve turned their backs on
God’s merciful intervention
Have you
had a "close call"?
-reckless driving
-unfaithfulness
-unhealthy lifestyle
-alcohol
Was it a
"close call" or was it actually a warning?
Has God
given you a second or third or fourth chance?
-do your heart and life reflect that?
--have you confessed/repented?
Of course,
I’m not sure how God may be trying to
get your attention
-some
of you are entertaining the possibility of committing a sin
--is this God’s word of warning and grace to
you?
After Paul
recounts some moral and spiritual disasters in
history, he says point-blank à
Read 1 Corinthians 10:11-13
And Hebrews 2:3 asks the $64,000 question à
How shall we
escape if we ignore such a great salvation?
Some of you are living carelessly in sin...you may think you are ok
because no one else knows about it...because you haven’t really
seen any consequences
-but trust me—God’s warning you that the wages of sin is death
--in His love and His grace, He’s giving you another chance
---life is short…tomorrow is not guaranteed
--would you be ready to face God in judgment?
---if not, what are you going to do about it today?
In the fall of 2003, a string of
claimed two-dozen
lives according to USA Today
-some residents later
complained that they had not received
adequate
warning, but the harsh truth was that they had
underestimated
the speed and severity of the flames
--one local
firefighter, Sgt. Conrad Grayson, responded, "We're
begging
people to leave, and they don't take us seriously.
They want
to pack some clothes, or fight it in the backyard
with a
garden hose. They don't seem to understand that this
is unlike
any fire we've seen. If people don't move fast,
they're going to lose their lives.”
-Jon Smallridge
frantically warned his neighbors, but some
ignored him and
others were too nonchalant
--he tells about
those who tried to save their televisions and
computers
before escaping.
---his
frustration was evident when he described the scene:
“They looked like they were packing for a trip.
The ones
who listened to me and left the area, lived. The ones
who didn't, died.”
Don’t be foolish and underestimate the certainty of God’s
judgment
-don’t be too casual
about the severity of the consequences
-don’t blow off this
second chance God has given you
You’ve heard the warning
-you’ve seen how
ignoring the warning is more costly than you can
fathom
--God gives
that warning to you because He is full of grace and
because He
loves you