What is the writing on the wall saying to you?
Recently I had a writing on the wall experience. Well actually it was a stress/echo test, but you get the point!
If God were to stop by your house today and write a message for you on the wall, what do you suspect it would say?
And as a congregation, if God were to get out his biggest sharpie and write us a note that would in just a few words make clear what God thinks of what we are doing as a church and what we should be doing as a church, what would God write?
It’s really important to take time to think about this, because quite often God has been doing an awful lot of communicating of both his concerns and his hopes for us, but until the sharpie comes out, we just don’t pay attention.
I told the story a while back of a congregation that spent almost $1,000,000 on renovations, paint, even an elevator. It had 30 people in attendance before all the work. It now has 25 after several deaths.
Perhaps all the renovations didn’t have much to do with what God was trying to tell the good folks about what it meant for them to be the church. Perhaps, they painted over the writing on the wall.
And since we do not want to be like those folks, but rather have our eyes and ears, and perhaps more importantly our hearts open to the movement of Gods’ spirit, what might God be saying to us, to you about God’s plans?
It’s pretty clear from the fifth chapter of Daniel that, Belshazzar, the king who followed Nebuchadnezzar had no idea what God wanted. For one, he was not the son of Nebuchadnezzar, either physically or spiritually, and two, he clearly did not know of Daniel.
As I mentioned last Sunday, the stories in Daniel are often separated by years, and here is a good example.
Nebuchadnezzar, whose heart seems to have been turned toward God, is followed by a king who is delighted to throw a banquet that uses the holy hardware from the temple for a wild and crazy party.
Toasts are even made to statues, idols, representing all kinds of gods, but no mention is made of Yahweh, until the giant hand appears and the words, mene, tekel, parsin, are written.
The words don’t seem to make sense, don’t mean anything and need interpreting.
The king calls in his advisers, who claim they could talk with the spirits of the dead and understand the meanings found in the stars.
He tells, “The man who can read this writing and tell me what it means will become the third most powerful man in my kingdom. He will wear robes of royal purple and a gold chain around his neck.
But they can’t. And then the Queen remembers Daniel!
He is the one who interprets dreams. And it is Daniel, faithful Daniel who understands the writing on the wall.
And right there is one of the most important lessons of the book of Daniel!
One of the most valuable things we can be and do for God’s kingdom is be faithful. God can always use faithful disciples.
There is no need for flashiness, we just need to be where God wants us!
The words written on the wall are mene, which means “numbered,” tekel, which means “weighed,” and parsin, which means “divided, or Persia.”
Daniel tells Belshazzar that God has numbered the days of his kingdom and has brought it to an end. God has weighed the king on his balance scales, and he falls short of what it takes to be king.
So, God has divided your kingdom between the Medes and the Persians.
And that night Belshazzar dies, and Darius the Mede takes his place!
It is an amazing story, a miraculous story, but also a story for us!
It’s clear! We are to remember who we are, what we have called to be and do, and to be sure to listen for God’s direction.
So, what do you think God would write on the walls of your bedroom, or living room, or your room at work if God wanted to catch your attention, redirect your energy, time, and talents?
And as a church, what is God communicating to us about who we should be, what we should do, how we should at work for God’s kingdom.
Go, and check the walls, and let us all know what God is telling you!
Amen!
Toasts are even made to statues, idols, representing all kinds of gods, but no mention is made of Yahweh, until the giant hand appears and the words, mene, tekel, parsin, are written.
The words don’t seem to make sense, don’t mean anything and need interpreting.
The king calls in his advisers, who claim they could talk with the spirits of the dead and understand the meanings found in the stars.
He tells, “The man who can read this writing and tell me what it means will become the third most powerful man in my kingdom. He will wear robes of royal purple and a gold chain around his neck.
But they can’t. And then the Queen remembers Daniel!
He is the one who interprets dreams. And it is Daniel, faithful Daniel who understands the writing on the wall.
And right there is one of the most important lessons of the book of Daniel!
One of the most valuable things we can be and do for God’s kingdom is be faithful. God can always use faithful disciples.
There is no need for flashiness, we just need to be where God wants us!
The words written on the wall are mene, which means “numbered,” tekel, which means “weighed,” and parsin, which means “divided, or Persia.”
Daniel tells Belshazzar that God has numbered the days of his kingdom and has brought it to an end. God has weighed the king on his balance scales, and he falls short of what it takes to be king.
So, God has divided your kingdom between the Medes and the Persians.
And that night Belshazzar dies, and Darius the Mede takes his place!
It is an amazing story, a miraculous story, but also a story for us!
It’s clear! We are to remember who we are, what we have called to be and do, and to be sure to listen for God’s direction.
So, what do you think God would write on the walls of your bedroom, or living room, or your room at work if God wanted to catch your attention, redirect your energy, time, and talents?
And as a church, what is God communicating to us about who we should be, what we should do, how we should at work for God’s kingdom.
Go, and check the walls, and let us all know what God is telling you!
Amen!
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