And we're resuming our study in the book of Daniel today, so you might want to get that out as we move through our study. Daniel chapter 5, picking up at verse 13. The objective this morning is to finish this chapter. And you all go, yeah, yeah, yeah, we'll see, we'll see, we'll see. But that is the objective. And so let's have a word of prayer, and then we will jump into our study this morning. Father in heaven, what a great joy and what a great delight it is to once again be here with your people on this Lord's Day, this beautiful day. We thank you for the Word of God, this precious book. May you speak to our hearts through the Holy Spirit who indwells us, who is the resident teacher. Teach us, guide us, convict us, encourage us, comfort us, challenge us. Lord, whatever our need is, our prayer is that you would meet that need as we spend this time together now in the word. In Jesus' name, we pray these things. Amen. Daniel chapter 5, picking up at verse 13. For the past two weeks, I have had the privilege of walking with some of you through those ancient lands of Israel and Italy. And I've come away with many impressions, but one that has profoundly impacted me is this idea that the land is strewn with what I would call residue of disobedience. Residue of disobedience, as we think of these great empires, disobedience and unbelief. In Galilee, for instance, beautiful Galilee this time of the year, and yet there are piles of rubble that have been buried for centuries, which were once three significant cities up in Galilee, Chorazin, Bethsaida, Capernaum. Capernaum was Jesus' headquarters in the north. 90% of his time was spent up there. He spent a lot of time in those three cities. And yet, because of their unbelief, because of their disobedience, he pronounced a curse upon them. He said, woe unto you. He performed more miracles in those three cities than he did anyplace else, and yet there was rampant unbelief, marginal belief and following of him. He cursed those cities, and isn't it interesting, for 2,000 years, they basically have been piles of rubble until archaeologists excavated them, and now they're still piles of rubble. Reminders to us of what happens when we choose to disobey, when we choose to turn a deaf ear to God. Or the city of Jerusalem. the remnants of walls and piles of stone which were once a part of a magnificent temple mount, built for the worship of Jehovah. And yet again, because of unbelief, Jesus said to that city, Oh, if you had only believed that I was who I claimed I was. Remember the triumphal entry as he hit the ridge of the Mount of Olives and begin to descend into the Kidron Valley, there's this magnificent panoramic view of the Temple Mount. And he saw it and he wept. And he said, because of your disbelief, because you have turned a deaf ear to God, not one stone of this magnificent structure will remain on top of another. And you go over there today and that is indeed the case. or even the city of Rome, the Eternal City. It's a magnificent place to visit. The ruins of the Forum, that great amphitheater that we call the Colosseum, structures honoring Roman heroes and conquests of bygone days, and now they're in ruin. Again, stark reminders of what happens when we choose to disobey, when we choose to turn a deaf ear to the Word of God, when we pursue a carnal, self-centered life of unbelief apart from God. It's happened nationally, but it also happens individually, doesn't it? And this morning from our text, a thesis is established, and it's this. Man's unrepentant arrogance inevitably leads to God's decisive judgment. Write that down. Man's unrepentant arrogance inevitably leads to God's decisive judgment. And we have an example of that as we look into our text this morning, as we look at the life of Belshazzar, the last king, the last monarch of this great and vast empire known as Babylon. We look at it this morning and we note a confrontation between Daniel the prophet and this great king. And we note three things about this encounter. First of all, Daniel's audience with the king. Daniel's audience with the king. Secondly, Daniel's rebuke of the king. Daniel was a bold man. He's about 82 years old, 83 years old at this time now. And he's a very bold man. He fears God more than he fears men. There's a lesson for us. Fear God. Don't fear man. And thirdly, Daniel's interpretation for the king. Now, we've left you hanging for numerous weeks as to what the meaning of many, many tekel uparsin means. Well, today's the day. We're going to find out. It's not a very good message. It's not an encouraging message. It's not an uplifting message. But there are lessons. There are lessons for us this morning. So we focus our attention upon those truths this morning. We begin by looking at verses 13 through 16. Boy, I feel like I'm pinned in here. I can't go over here. It's funny. You get used to things. And I keep wanting to go, but I can't. So I'll just stand here. Daniel chapter 5 verse 13 read with me then Daniel was brought in before the king the king spoke and said to Daniel are you that Daniel who was one of the exiles from Judah whom my father the king brought from Judah don't belly egg she kind of rebuked him said you know get your act together and get him in here he's gonna help you now Failure is described by him as he recounts for him now that he's identified this man as being Daniel He then goes on and says in verse 15 just now just prior to your coming in here the wise men and the conjurers were brought in before me that they might read this inscription and make its interpretation known to me, but They could not declare the interpretation of the message But I have personally heard about you So he describes the failure. He says, I brought in my pagan brain trust, my cabinet, if you will, but they failed me. They proved their incompetency once again. They couldn't read, let alone interpret, what was written on the wall. Got to read it before you can interpret it, right? Well, they couldn't even read it. So, obviously, they're not going to be able to interpret it for him. So he said, they failed me. But he said, now I would like to offer to you a reward because I understand you possess extraordinary ability. You possess an ability to shed light on things that nobody else can. You have an understanding that nobody else has. You have extraordinary wisdom and I need it now. I have to tap into it now. And I'm willing to pay you for it. I'm willing to reward you for it. Just as I promised to these soothsayers and conjurers and wise men, I'll give the same to you. I'll robe you in purple. I'll put a gold amulet around your neck, and I will make you the third most powerful man in the kingdom." The first was Nebanitis, who was the king. The second, of course, was Belshazzar, who ruled in his absence. And then, of course, he said, I'll give you the third, the third seat of power. But it's interesting. You see, Belshazzar used the only motivation he knew. He thought Daniel might be like those other conjurers, those other wise men, those other priests. They were basically mercenaries, and they would do anything for the right price. But we're going to see that Daniel isn't an ordinary man, and he's nothing like those men that have come before him. What Belshazzar does, he uses the enticement of position, possessions, and power. I mean, who could resist those three things, right? Position. I'll clothe you with purple, which was the sign of royalty. possessions. I'll give you a necklace of gold. He said, that thing is worth a lot of money. But in addition to that, he said, I'll give you power. I'll make you the third ruler, the triumvir in this kingdom. But Nebuchadnezzar, or rather Belshazzar, underestimated this man called Daniel, as we'll see in just a moment. But before we go any further, as we look at this first point, this audience that takes place between Daniel and Belshazzar, let me give you a direction for life. As we look at this man's life, this man Daniel, let me put it up here and you can write it down. On the back of your outline, on the bottom, there's a section entitled, Direction for Living, and I'd like you to put down this first one. Never underestimate the power of a godly life. Never underestimate the power of a godly life. Though years have passed, and this man Daniel has been absent from the court of the king of Babylon, and though he lives in the midst of immorality and idolatry in that pagan country, that pagan empire, Daniel remained unstained and unmoved by those pressures surrounding him. And as a result of that, God mightily used him. God mightily used him to make a difference and to influence even a pagan society for God's glory. Now, let's face it, folks. As we look at the world in which we live in, it's easy for us to come to the conclusion there's no use for us to make any effort to try and impact this world because we can't. There's just too much wickedness. There's too much evil. It's rampant. It's rolling over our country. There's nothing we can do to change it. There's nothing we can do to stem the tide. Well, I would say to you, wrong. Because you see, never underestimate the power of a godly life. Because if you remain committed to Jesus Christ, if you remain wholly dedicated to Him and to His purposes, He will use you. and He will use me. Even in the midst of immorality, even in the midst of idolatry, even in the midst of rampant wickedness, He can and He will use us. Do you believe that this morning? I believe that with all my heart. And here's a classic illustration of it. Let's face it folks, Babylon was a wicked, wicked, wicked place. But in the midst of that, there's this bright shining light. His name Daniel and why did he shine so brightly? Because he loved his God and he was wholly dedicated to him wholly committed to him and God said Daniel You know what? I'm gonna use you. I'm gonna use you to astound this nation as a matter of fact He used him to eventually so influenced the next king of the next Empire that he allowed the people of Israel to do what? to return to the homeland He can use you that way, He can use me that way, even here in the midst of this heathen pagan culture we call America. Don't let anybody fool you, we are not a Christian nation. We are not a Christian nation. We may have been built and founded on Christian principles, but trust me, we are not a Christian nation. Paganism runs rampant in America today. And you know what? The Lord needs you, and He needs me, to be bright shining lights who can and who will make a difference in the world in which we live in. The Apostle Paul wrote to a man by the name of Titus who was a pastor. He wrote to this man while he was on an island called Crete. He was a missionary church planter. And he wrote to him to exhort and encourage him because he lived in a pagan world as well. It was the Greco-Roman world of the first century. I mean, I just came from Rome, and in Rome you see the ruins of all these ancient temples that were erected to all of these gods that the Romans and the Greeks worshipped. We walked through the Vatican Museum, and through the hallways there, I mean, there is a myriad of statues of gods and goddesses. Inanimate objects carved out of stone and wood, fashioned out of gold and silver and bronze, that had no life. They were dead. Yet people bowed down and worshipped them. But in the midst of that culture, there were men like Titus and Paul and Peter and James and John, men like Daniel, whom God raised up as bright, vivid, shining lights who made a difference. We can do the same here now listen to what Paul wrote to this man Titus write that verse down Titus chapter 2 verses 11 through 13 Through 14 and let me read them to you Titus chapter 2 beginning at verse 11 and listen to what Paul says He says for the grace of God has appeared bringing salvation to all men. He's talking about the first coming of Jesus Christ and And the grace of God is a reference to Christ. He came and He came for what purpose? To bring salvation to all men. Deliverance to all men. By the way, that's a good passage to take someone to who believes that Jesus only died for the elect. Oh, did He? It says there that He came and He brought salvation to how many men? To all men. Well, they would say, well, that means all men who were elected. No, it doesn't say that. It said all men. So let's not read into the text what isn't in the text. He came to bring deliverance for all men." But then he goes on, then he goes on, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, not sensually, righteously, meaning live correctly, and godly, meaning godlike, in the present age. Looking, and here's the thing that keeps us living that way, he says, looking for the blessed hope and the glorious return of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Hey, where are your eyes this morning? Where are your eyes this morning? What are you focused on? What are you looking at? You ought to be looking at the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ is coming back and today could be that day. The question is, are you ready and are you working? Are you ready and are you working? Because if you have your focus on Him, then you will live righteously, then you will live sensibly, then you will live God-like. But only when your eyes are on Him. But He's not done. He goes on and He says, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds. In the King James it says that he might make for himself a peculiar people. A peculiar people. Now that word can convey all kinds of things, but the idea behind it isn't that we're going to be weird. We might be perceived as weird. He doesn't mean he wants us all to be wackos and weirdos, though we might be looked at as wackos and weirdos. What the word means is he wants distinct, unique people. If we want to attract people to Jesus Christ, we've got to be different, folks. Because, why do they want what we have, if we have what they have? Right? What difference does it make? You see, He wants bright, shining lights that attract bugs. You turn your lights on, you attract bugs, right? Why? They love the warmth of that light. Do they see the warmth and the love of the Lord Jesus in us? Do they see us being distinctly very different than them? Very different than them. I mean, when we're over in Israel, I stand out. Okay? I stand out because of my blonde hair, my blue eyes, my fair complexion. Because everyone there is Middle Eastern. They're dark-haired, dark-complected, olive-complected. And I stand out. They know I'm from America. I have money to spend. And on the streets, you hear over and over, $1, $1, $1, $1, $1, $1, $1. 500 postcards. $1, big picture. Actually, they're pretty good deals. But you see, we need to be distinct. We need to be unique. The question is, folks, are we? Daniel was. That's why God used him. That's why God used him. The first principle is never underestimate the power of a godly life. And my challenge to each of us this morning is, by God's grace, to be godly men and women, even in the throes and in the midst of this pagan world in which we live in. Be a godly man, be a godly woman, and guess what? You will have the delight of being used by your heavenly father to bring others to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and into an intimacy with him that you now have. Well, there's more. And when I find my notes, I'll find out what more there is. What did I do with them? Oh, here they are. OK. OK. Now, Daniel's rebuke of the king. Daniel's rebuke of the king. Daniel is a very bold man. He's not discourteous in his rebuke. He's not disrespectful, though he had little respect for Belshazzar, which is clear, as we'll see in just a moment. But Daniel would not be bought. Daniel was a man of integrity. He said, my ministry is not for sale. I will not take a bribe. I won't be enticed by rewards. I will not be a man pleaser. He feared God more than he feared man. He didn't want to become obligated to anybody, especially the king. He made it clear he wouldn't invent a reading and interpret it in order to get personal gain. He would give an unprejudiced interpretation of what was written on the wall in no attempt to gain favor with the king. Notice what he says to the king. In verse 17, then Daniel answered and said before the king, keep your gifts for yourself or give your rewards to someone else. However, I will read the inscription to the king and make the interpretation known to him. So he refuses the gifts, but he does say to him, I will read the inscription and I will make it known. I will make its meaning known to you." Now, his preview of history, his review of history. He starts with Belshazzar by taking him back to the history associated with his father. Man, is it warm in here? I must really be preaching, boy. It's really getting hot in here. I am extremely hot. Which makes me nervous, because that makes you sleepy, and so I hope that you won't fall asleep on me here, okay? Now, let's talk a little bit about this review of history. And he begins by saying, okay, okay. Nothing insolent or discourteous. He just addresses him, and he preaches a sermon, and boy, what a sermon he preaches. And in this sermon, the first thing he does, he states some charges in a very factual and objective way. And he begins by giving King Belshazzar a lesson in history by reviewing Nebuchadnezzar and his life, his grandfather. And notice what he says about him. He says, O King, the Most High God granted sovereignty, grandeur, glory, and majesty to Nebuchadnezzar, your father. And because of the grandeur which he bestowed on him, all the peoples, nations, and men of every language feared and trembled before him. Whomever he wished, he killed. And whomever he wished to spare, lived. And whomever he wished, he humbled. And whomever he wished, he elevated. But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit became too proud that he behaved arrogantly, He was deposed from His royal throne, and His glory was taken away from Him. He was also driven away from mankind, and His heart was made like that of a beast, and His dwelling place was with the wild donkeys. He was given grass to eat like cattle, and His body was drenched with the dew of heaven, until He recognized that the Most High God is ruler over the realm of mankind, and that He sets over it whom He wishes. So the history lesson was this. He said, O King, let me remind you of the reign of your grandfather, the great Nebuchadnezzar. God gave him his kingdom and all of the associated honors with it. He had absolute authority of life and death. He could say, this man lives, this man lived. He could say, that man dies, that man died. He could elevate, he could put down at a snap of a finger, at the issuance of one single word. He was an absolute sovereign. His prestige came from the Lord, though. His position in life came from the Lord. All of his power over others came from the Lord, but he forgot that. He forgot that and his pride and his arrogance became elevated to the point where God had to humble him. You ever been humbled by God? Not a pleasant experience, but a necessary experience because the human heart is filled with deceit and arrogance. He humbled this man. And he recounts it for him, and boy did he humble Nebuchadnezzar. He sent him a mental illness which caused him to begin to graze out in the fields like a cow. His food became the grass of the pastures. He lived in the elements so that he was wet all the time. His hair grew long, became matted like the filthy fur of some woodland creature. And his nails grew like the talons of an eagle. And for seven years he lived like that. But I'll say this for Nebuchadnezzar. God brought the judgment to humble him so that he would recognize God as God. And did Nebuchadnezzar come to that point in his life? Oh yes, he did. He acknowledged God as God. He learned his lesson. He tells the history lesson to Belshazzar for this reason. I want you to see yourself in the same place as your grandfather Nebuchadnezzar because, you see, that's where you are. Unfortunately for Belshazzar, the grace and the mercy of God had run out and there was none left for him because of his belligerent, willful disobedience and arrogance. So now having given the history lesson, having brought Belshazzar to that place where he recognizes that he's in the same place his grandfather was, now the sermon gets hot. Because now he reprimands him, he rebukes him. And he begins with these words, yet you have not. Yet you have not. Look at that verse with me. Daniel chapter 5, and notice what he now says to him. Verse 22, yet you, his son, that is you're his grandson Belshazzar, but you have not humbled your heart even though you knew all this. All what? All of this about Nebuchadnezzar, what had happened to him. He was a teenager at the time. He'd seen it with his own eyes. He'd heard about it with his own ears. He was there. He was part of the family. When they had to depose him, they had to send him out because he was wild, he was a madman. He rebukes and he levels three charges against Belshazzar. The first one is this, premeditated sin, verse 22. He said, you knew all of this and yet you chose to disobey anyway. You chose to go your own way. You see, Belshazzar, you sinned through disobedience and pride, not through ignorance. And God now holds you accountable for that. You failed to learn the lesson of your grandfather. 1 Corinthians chapter 10, turn there if you would for a moment. 1 Corinthians chapter 10 and look at verses 11 and 12 with me. The Apostle Paul, talking about the Israelites wandering in the wilderness in the previous verses, tells us that those events happened, those things happened and were recorded for our learning. You know, the one thing we learn about history is that we don't learn from history. Isn't that true? The one thing we've learned about history is we don't learn from history. Here's a case in point, Belshazzar, Nebuchadnezzar. Listen to these verses. Paul writes, Now these things, referring to the Israelites, the wandering in the wilderness, the pillar of fire by night, the pillar of cloud by day, the Lord's direction, protection, etc. Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore, let him who thinks he stands take heed, lest he what? Lest he fall. He says, don't be so arrogant that you don't think you can learn from somebody else. You know, one of the most difficult people to work with is an unteachable, spirited person. Someone who feels, I know it all, you don't have to tell me anything. You know, most of us when we're kids are that way, aren't we? We are amazed at how intelligent our dads are when we get to be about 21, 22 years old. Because when we were younger, we didn't think they knew squat. Isn't that true? My dad didn't know nothing. And then suddenly you go, you know, man, my dad knew a lot. Yeah, he did. But you see, it's in the human nature to not want to learn from other people. And it's spiritually true as well. He rebukes this man because he said, you knew the lesson, but you did not learn the lesson. But he's not done yet. The sermon gets hotter. Now he rebukes him for his profane sacrilege. Verse 23 in the first part of the verse, back to Daniel chapter 5. And look at 23, the front part of the verse. He says in that verse, But you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven. He says to him, you have defied God by desecrating sacred vessels. He goes on and then talks about what he had done. He said, you had them bring the vessels of his house, that is, Jehovah's house, the temple vessels that Nebuchadnezzar captured when he captured Jerusalem. He said, you brought them into the banquet room, you and your nobles, your wives, your concubines, and you all drank wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold and bronze and iron and wood and stone. Those are all the Babylonian gods. And he gets a little sarcastic here, which do not see. or hear, or understand. He said they don't have eyes, so they can't see. They don't have ears, so they can't hear. And he said they don't even have a mind. They can't think. They can't understand. They can't grasp. They can't comprehend. And yet, you were praising them with toasts from these sacred vessels used in the worship of Jehovah God. And now, he says, because of that defiance, your doom is hanging over your head. And then he had one more charge to bring against him, pagan sacrifice, verse 23 and B, what I just read. He praised the idols, but in doing that, in praising the idols, he did something else, which he says in the verse, look at it carefully with me. The latter part of verse 23, but the God in whose hand are your life, breath, and your ways, you have not glorified. He said, you've worshipped these inanimate objects that have no life but the God who holds the very breath you breathe in His hand, who's in control of all of the affairs of your life. You have thumbed your nose at Him. You have flaunted your faith in His face. And for that reason, doom now hangs over your head. You forgot who's in control. You see, Belshazzar imagined himself as William Henley wrote in a very famous poem called Invictus. You ever read that poem? Let me read to you the last two lines of it. I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul. And you know what God was saying to this man, Belshazzar? Oh, no, you're not. Because you see, you are right there. Your breath, your ways are right there. And by the way, that is true of all of us sitting here this morning. Our breath, I mean, each of us is just one breath away from where? Eternity. One breath. Have you ever been kind of dozing and you suddenly kind of lose your breath for a second? Have you ever done that? And you go, wow, man, I almost died there. I mean, we're one breath away, one breath away from eternity. Who controls the breath? God. Not some arrogant pompous king who's going to shake his fist in the face of Jehovah. He says, no, no, you're in my hands, pal. You're right there. You're right there. Now there's some direction for living. Two important lessons taught to us. And I'm almost done. Very close. Won't be long. I've got to finish, because I gave Pearl a different title for next week. So I've got to finish this. Well, excuse me. There. That'll keep it from sliding. Now, number two, this, you know, go to the back of the outline, directions for living, you've got one, now here's two. God is sovereign. You know what that means? God's in control. God is the king of the universe. He sits on the throne. He is in control of all that's taking place. As a matter of fact, isn't that the theme of Daniel? No less than three times already we've seen it repeated throughout the book of Daniel. The idea that God is sovereign. For instance, Daniel chapter 2 and verse 21. Remember what that verse said? Daniel 2, 21. And here's what it says. And it is he who changes the times and the epics. He removes kings and establishes kings. That's what was said of God. Verse 17 of chapter 4 of Daniel. The Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whom He wishes and sets over it the lowliest of men. And even in this chapter, in verse 21, we read, Most High God, the Most High God is the ruler over the realm of mankind and that He sets over it whomever He wishes. That's the theme of the book. God is in control. Everything is on schedule. He's accomplishing his great purposes and his plans. So what is the relevancy of that to you and to me? Well, it's this. He's not only the sovereign king of the empires, but guess what? He's the sovereign king of your life and my life and everything about it. He is in control. He is in charge. He's unfolding His purposes and His plans as these events transpire in our lives. I don't know what's going on in some of your lives this morning, but I'm here to encourage you that your God is still in control. Romans 8.28, we all know this verse, All things work together for good to them that love God and are called according to His purpose. Right? Also in Romans 11.36, Listen to these words. Romans chapter 11 verse 36, for from him and through him and to him are all things. And then Ephesians chapter 1 verse 11. Listen again. Also, we have obtained an inheritance having been predestined according to His purpose, who works all things after the counsel of His will." And what characterizes His will? What characterizes His plan? Romans 12 says that the will of God is good, perfect, acceptable. That's the will of God. That's the lesson for us. But there's one more lesson. Remember what has happened in the past and apply it to your future, to your present. God expects us to respond to the light that he gives. He holds man responsible for the truth that he reveals. And for that reason, we are all, the Bible says, without excuse. Romans chapter 15 and verse 4 is a verse that sounds very similar to the one we read from 1 Corinthians 10 a moment ago. Here's what it says. For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction. Why? That through perseverance and the encouragement of the scriptures, we might have hope. We might have hope. Well, finally, we come to Daniel's interpretation for the king. And I'm going to have to stop and save it for next week because there's too much in it to just fly through in the next couple of minutes. I tried. We got through two. But as we close this morning, may I just encourage you, if you're a child of God, if you're a Christian, may I just encourage you in the throes of whatever's going on in your life right now to remember that your Heavenly Father loves you and He's still in control and there's value and there's benefit in whatever transpires. And I don't want that to sound hollow. I don't want it to sound like a platitude. I believe it. I know wherever I speak because I've been in the throes of storms and trials and tribulations. And you know what? I've always found that to be true. Remember, life is like a tapestry. The Lord sees the finished product. You and I just look at the backside. You ever looked at the backside of a tapestry? Knots running everywhere, lines running every which way, and you go, what is this a picture of? But see, the artist always knows where he's going because he has envisioned in his mind the end result, the end product. And God's the artist. We're the handiwork. We're looking at the backside. Just remember, he's the artist and he knows how it's going to finish on the other side. And it will be, trust me, it will be a beautiful, magnificent picture. Because as I read somewhere once, God don't make no junk. And that's absolutely correct when it comes to our lives. And if you're here this morning and you don't know Christ as Savior, then I want to offer to you that wonderful hope. because it's available through simple faith. You see, God loves you. He proved his love for you by dying for your sins in the person of the Son of God. And everything necessary to pay your debt, my debt, has been paid. You don't have to worry about it anymore. All you have to do is just take it, because he's offering it this morning free of charge. All you need to do is take it by faith. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever, that's you, believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life. Now what's the downside of that? What's the downside of that? There is no downside to it. Just trust Him. Just embrace Him. Just believe on Him. Let's bow our heads and close our eyes this morning as we finish our service together, and I speak to those of you who are here without the Savior. Christian, you pray, and you pray for grace to accept the fact that God is King, Sovereign. He's on the throne. He's in control of your life and all of its affairs. He's just working the accomplishment of His plans and purposes. But for those who are here without the Savior, may I invite you today to trust Him? Let me invite you to pray a prayer. Now the prayer doesn't save you, the prayer is your way of expressing your faith to God. Pray something like this, Dear God, I am a sinner, and I need a Savior. And I believe Jesus Christ died for my sins, and I now trust Him to save me. And I believe He rose again, Thank you for loving me. If you prayed that prayer, and you really meant business with God, here's a promise from Him to you. He says to you, if you'll confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, and that's what you just did, here's the promise, you will be saved. for time and eternity. If you prayed that prayer, would you let me know while our heads are bowed, our eyes are closed, would you let me know by just raising your hand so I can pray for you right now? Any boy or girl? Any teenager? Amen. Thank you, sir. Amen. Thank you. Anybody else? A man and a woman this morning? A trusted Christ? Anybody else? Father, we pray for each of these who've trusted you today. Grant them grace now to become the man and the woman of God you want them to be. May their faith deepen. May you use them for your glory. Grant grace to each of us, Lord, to be beacons in this dark world for Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen. This message has been brought to you by the Santa Rosa Bible Church. We are a gathering of sinners saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone. We exist to glorify God by making, maturing, and multiplying followers of Jesus Christ, who will know Him and make Him known. For more information visit us at srbible.org.