Now, if you've got your Bible with you tonight, we're turning to the Old Testament, and we're turning to the book of Daniel. We're turning to Daniel chapter 5. We're not going to read all of the chapter, for that is quite long. Thirty-one verses, but we'll read some. Now, when I was in the Faith Mission Bible College, I was always taught one thing. You haven't much to say, Make sure you have plenty to read. Daniel chapter 5, and we read from verse 1. Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand. Belshazzar, whilst he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem, that the king and his princes, his wives, and his concubines might drink therein. Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem, and the king and his princes, his wives, and his concubines drank in them. They drank wine and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone. In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaster of the wall of the king's palace. And the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. Then the king's countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smoked one against another. And the king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and soothsayers. And the king spake and said to the wise men of Babylon, whosoever shall read this writing, show me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom. Then came in all the king's wise men, but they could not read the writing, nor make known to the king the interpretation thereof. Then was Daniel brought in before the king, and the king spake and said unto Daniel, Art thou that Daniel which art of the children of the captivity of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Jure? I have even heard of thee, that the Spirit of God is in thee, And that light and understanding and excellent wisdom is found in thee. And now the wise men, the astrologers, have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing and make known unto me the interpretation thereof. But they could not show the interpretation of the thing. And I have heard of thee, that thou canst make interpretations and dissolve doubts. Now if thou canst read the writing, and make known to me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about thy neck, and shalt be the third ruler in the kingdom.' Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another. Yet I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation. O thou king, Most high God, give Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom and majesty and glory and honor. And for the majesty that he gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. Whom he wooed he slew, and whom he wooed he kept alive, and whom he wooed he set up, and whom he wooed he put down. But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him. And he was driven from the sons of men. And his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses. They fed him with grass like an oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till he knew that the Most High God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appointed over it whomsoever he will. And thou, his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this. but hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven. And they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines have drank wine in them. And thou hast praised the gods of silver and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know. And the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified? Then was the part of the hand sent from him, and this writing was written. This is the writing that was written, bine, bine, tekel, yefarsin. This is the interpretation of the thing, bine, bine, God hath numbered thy kingdom and finished it. Tekel thou art wed, and the balance is in our found wanting. Peres, thy kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians. then commanded Belshazzar. They clothed Daniel with scarlet, put a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldean slain. Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about three score and two years old. Amen. God again will add his blessing to the reading of his precious word. Can we just bow for a moment's prayer, and then we will come to God's word for this evening. Our loving God and our eternal Father in heaven, we thank you for your precious word. We thank you that thy word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. And we rejoice that thy word is forever settled in heaven. And ask as we come to look at your truth that the Holy Spirit will guide us aright and that he will apply the things of thy word to our hearts. Lord, perfect that which concerns each one gathered here this evening, both speaker and hearer. For we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. I am very mindful, of course, tonight that we're still in a harvest service, and we're also at the commencement of a gospel campaign. And so very, very briefly tonight, I want to leave with you a thought what I have entitled Harvest Time in a Man's Life. You will be familiar with the words of the Apostle Paul in Colossians chapter 6 and verse 7 where he said, Be not deceived. God is not mocked, but whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. And when we come to the book of Daniel, we see a haughty monarch who lifted up his heart in rebellion against God. sowed his seeds and his wild oats. But then came the time of reaping. When Paul said, Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap, he was dealing with monetary matters and material matters because in those things there is also a sowing and a reaping to be done. But also that applies in the spiritual. Whatever a man sows, that shall he also reap. He would be a foolish farmer or a foolish gardener that would sow a particular seed in the spring of the year and then go out in harvest time and expect to reap something altogether different. And yet, men and women, when it comes to spiritual matters, that's just how it is. There are people who feel they can live in sin, turn their back upon God, reject his every offer of mercy. And when they die, God will throw open the gates of heaven to all on Sunday and welcome everybody into that celestial city. It does not happen that way. The Bible says, Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. In fact, the Bible says, If we sow to the flesh, there is a reaping to be done. If we sow to the spirit, there is a reaping to be done. If we sow to the flesh, the Bible says we shall of the flesh reap corruption. If we sow to the Spirit, we shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. But we must keep this truth in mind tonight, that whatever we sow, that is exactly what we are going to reap. Do not expect to reap something that you have not sowed. And, of course, Belshazzar the king stands as a monument in the Bible to that truth. Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. As we come to look at this character, harvest time in a man's life, there are three simple thoughts that I want to leave before you. There is, first of all, his sinful dining. That great feast was a sinful feast, and every act of blasphemy that could be carried out was carried out at that feast. Belshazzar was the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar, and he made a very lavish feast. Now, we are not told the occasion of that feast, May have been his birthday or some other thing. And of course, if you have a birthday, that is the younger they like a birthday, those who get on don't like even to be reminded that it's birthday time. There's just too many candles to blow out. You'd have a heart attack before you'd have them all out. But when the children are having a party, they gather their little friends in for an hour or two, maybe three for a bit of fun, then it's over. That wouldn't have been the lavish feast that is spoken about in this chapter. In all probability, this would have gone on for days and weeks, maybe as far as five or even six weeks. And the palace had become a place of sinful pleasure. What would have happened was simply this, that they were eating and drinking and dancing and merriment and all the rest of it. That went on day and night and day and night and day and night. Lavish feasts, of course, were not uncommon in the kingdoms of the old world. And all the aristocracy of the community would have been assembled in the palace. That palace became a place of vice. It became, first of all, a place of drunkenness because the Bible says they took those sacred vessels and they drank wine in them. That was a great act of blasphemy. Those sacred vessels that had been taken at the time of the Babylonish captivity. That night, Belshazzar pled the full. You know, I believe that a person who lives his life without Jesus Christ is a fool. to live this day gambling upon the uncertain tomorrow, that all will be well, there'll be further opportunities to give our hearts to Christ. And so he gambles day after day upon an uncertain tomorrow. It's foolish. And this was a very foolish man. And the Bible has a lot to say about a fool. The Bible talks about the language of a fool. The fool has said in his heart, there is no God. And there are many people who will look out across the beauty of God's creation and say, God did not create this. This just happened. There was a big bang one day and you have the world as you have it today. Well, Ulster people, over the past 40 years, witnessed many a big bang. Bombs were set in our cities and our towns. And when they went off, they did not leave the place very pretty. And yet we are told why this world just happened. There was a big buying, and so some deny that God exists. There is no God, is what they say. But then there are others, and while they will admit there is a God, their attitude is, there is no God for me. And that is really what the verse is saying. No God, not in my life. That's how it was in the days of Christ, when they took him out and crucified the Prince of life. They said, away with this man. We are not having him reigning and ruling in our lives. Language of a fool. The Bible speaks about the laughter of a fool. And that's exactly what was happening in the palace at that time. They were jesting and they were joking. And they were making a mockery of things that are sacred and things that are holy. And the Bible tells us in Ecclesiastes chapter 7 and verse 6, For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of a fool, making light of things that are sacred and things that are holy. And there's many in Ulster tonight, and they make light of the gospel of Christ. We've heard that old-fashioned slaughterhouse religion all our lives. Now we're educated. We don't need that message. And so they laugh off the whole matter of their need of Christ. Could it be there's someone in this meeting and you have never stopped to think seriously about life or about death, about heaven or about hell, about the consequences of living and dying and your sin? Just laugh the matter off. The Bible then speaks about the last of a full. And you know, when we come into this chapter in Daniel 5, that chapter opens in man's day, and that chapter closes with God's day. Because there's coming that last day in our life, and in Luke chapter 12 and verse 20, we have the record of that rich farmer. He said, I will pull down my barns, I will build greater. There was nothing wrong with that. The tragedy was this, that God was not in his thinking. He was living as if he were never going to die. I'll pull down my barns. And I will build greater. And God said, Thou fool, this night." This night is a very important night because there might never be another night like this night. Friend, one night, one day can change your life and mine forever. One visit to the doctor could turn your world and mine upside down forever. Just one day. And God said, Thou fool, this day. And we read in Daniel chapter 5 and verse 30 where it says, In that night was Belshazzar king of the Chaldeans fain. It always comes down to the last night. And friend, I wonder if this was your last night. how it is with your soul. Can you say with the Apostle Paul, after his wonderful conversion on the Damascus road, he could say, I know whom I have believed, and I'm persuaded that he's able to keep that which I've committed unto him against that day. There are many people, and they hope that they are saved. Paul didn't hope that he would see him. He said, I know. Friend, do you know that you've been born again? For that is something that you and I need to be sure about. And that night the palace became a place of drunkenness and blasphemy and desecration. Those sacred vessels, they filled them with wine, they drank out of them, and they made light of the things of God. It was their day. And that's why I say this chapter opens with man's day, but it closes with God's day. And folks, this is man's day. And therefore, he can do as he pleases and live as he likes. He can lie and cheat and curse and swear and blaspheme. It's His day. He can do as He pleases. He can turn His back upon God and lift up the fist of His heart in rebellion against Him and say, No, God, not for me. I'm not having you in my life. And He can shut the Savior out. It's His day. But as sure as man has a day, God will have a day. And just as man has treated God in his day, so God will treat man in his day. What a day to hear the Savior say, I don't know you. Depart from me. And the Bible says of those who will come and say, we have preached in thine eve, and we have prophesied in thine eve, and we have professed in thine eve, and he says, I don't know you. That's why the Bible says we are to make our calling and our election sure. Friend, are you sure you're saved tonight? And you can be sure. The Bible says we can be sure. The Bible says these things are written that you might know. You have eternal life. We often sing with the children in the children's meetings, I know that I've been born again. Friend, do you know that you've been born again? But it was not only his sinful dining there, but then there was his sad dilemma. At the height of his sinful blasphemy, when the cup of iniquity was full, something awful yet supernatural happened. So much so that the monarch is smitten with fear And the Bible says his knees smote one against the other and he cries out, which literally means he shrieks like a madman. The finger appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall. Now the Bible tells us about the finger of God in the past. You remember when God was going to break the Egyptian bondage. And by the leadership of one man, Moses bring that great kingdom of people from out under the heel of the pharaohs and into the promised land. But Pharaohs, he hardened his heart and he would not let the children of Israel go. And then God sent the plagues into Egypt. And at that time, the wise men, the magicians, they were all called for by the pharaohs And they came to Pharaoh and they said to Pharaoh in Exodus chapter 8 and verse 19, this is the finger of God. Friend, I want to say this, the finger of God is writing today. And the finger of God writes the record of our life. We read over in the Old Testament where the scripture says, Moses, I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore, choose life that thou and thy seed might live forever. I call heaven to record, and God has switched on the great recorders of eternity. They are in motion. They are recording this night against us. And then one day when we stand before God, and my friend, if you stand before Him out of Christ, then He'll reel you back into time, there to give an account of what you've done with Jesus. The finger is now writing on the wall of Belshazzar's palace. And there is a moment of judgment day on this day. And the monarch was about to learn this awful truth, that whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For now the sowing is past, and the harvest has appeared, and the moment of reaping has come. And, of course, the sowing of the seeds of sin might bring great pleasure, but there wasn't the same joy in the reaping. And, of course, Belshazzar discovered this, that there was no shelter from the eternal frown of an angry God. For that night that came fell into the hands of the living God. And always remember that he who swims in sin will sink in sorrow. Sin may seem a very pleasing thing, but, oh, listen, sin brings sorrow into our lives. And sin brings shame into our lives. And sin brings suffering into our lives. If not in this life, most certainly in eternity should you die without Jesus Christ. Now thinking about his sad dilemma, the Bible speaks about his fear there in verses 6 and 7. Then the king's countenance was changed, his thoughts troubled him, the joints of his loins were loosed, his knees smoked one against another, and he cried aloud. He is smitten with fear. He is paralyzed with fear. He is the man who stifled the voice of his conscience. Like the man of whom we read in Proverbs 29, verse 1, where it says, Who being often reproved and hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed. That without remedy. And friend, that word destroyed in that verse, shall suddenly be destroyed, literally means cut off. And Belshazzar was suddenly cut off in the height of his godless career. He was reaping what he sowed. As we all do, we reap what we sow. There's amazing words there. In the verse 22, We read these words, And thou, his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this. What did he know? The previous verses tell us that he knew of the goodness of God and he knew of the punishment of God. His grandfather, Nebuchadnezzar, God had prospered him. And then his heart was lifted up in pride. And it's the goodness of God that leadeth to repentance. Hasn't God been good to us? We have health and strength. We have soundness in body and mind. We have the use of our faculties. We can come to hear the preaching of God's Word. But more than that, hasn't God been good to us in giving His Son to die on the cross? A sufficient answer to all our sins. My friend, we are left without excuse as to why we shouldn't put our trust in Christ. But he also knew of the punishment of God because when God had prospered his grandfather Nebuchadnezzar, he came to that point in his life where he felt he didn't need God anymore. And he wielded such power in his day that he could decide who would live and who would die. And even to God's people today, there's this awful danger in good times about thinking we can do without God. And sadly, even because of that, there's many Christians who once loved the Lord with all their heart and now they're following afar off. The zeal has abated and the fire has gone out. Nebuchadnezzar was deposed from his throne. And he turned into a sort of a madman. Hard chains like the heart of a beast. Eating grass. Lying at the back of the hedge like a beast. And when he would wake up in the morning, his body was wet with the dew of heaven. Punishment of God. You and I repent unto the goodness of God because when God's judgment comes then, there is no repentance because His mercy has passed. And again, to repeat that verse, it's a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a living God. And that's exactly what this man did. His grandfather had fallen into the hands of an angry God. And Daniel said you knew all this. And as many Ulster people today, they know what's right, but sadly they keep on doing what's wrong. Brought up and nurtured under the gospel of Christ in Christian homes, but they couldn't wait like the prodigal until they got to that point in their life where people had to stop exercising authority over them. Let me be my own man, my own person, do my own thing, go my own way. In spite of all that they knew, they've turned their back on God. Friend, have you turned your back on God? Or as a Christian, have you, because of the goodness of God and you have everything you need, now you're not as interested in the things of God as you used to be? It's the goodness of God that leadeth to repentance. Sadly, many of God's people have drifted away. A young man in this province. And God wonderfully saved him. And after some time as a Christian, he felt that God was calling him. He sought the Lord's face in prayer and sought God's guidance through His Word. He was absolutely convinced God had called him. And he began to make preparation to go into Bible school, make preparation to go and serve the Lord. And in the midst of those preparations, where he was absolutely clear about God's call, something happened. His father suddenly died. Now he's in a dilemma. Will I answer the call of God that was so clear, or will I settled for the family business. And the family business was running a mill. And he settled for the mill, forgot about the call of God. And you know, he worked from morning till late at night, worrying and working and trying to make the mill pay its way. every day, all day. Then the people of the church noticed something began to go missing at the prayer meeting because he was working at the mill. Then, a little later on, they began to notice that he had gone missing from the Sunday night meeting. You see, he was so busy, day after day, working at the mill, he had no time now to go to the prayer meeting. And on a Sunday, wow, that was the only opportunity he had as a family to meet with friends. And soon he wasn't going to church at all. But you know he worked and he worried and he worried and he worked until he worked and worried himself into bad health and he fell into a sad state of depression. It became so bad they had to take him into hospital. One night his wife went in and he was in a terrible state. Sweat was just pumping out of his body. And she said, Oh Tommy, what has gone wrong? And he said, Mary, last night Jesus came into the ward and stood at the foot of my bed and he was talking to me. And then again he broke down in a flood of tears and she said, Tommy, what did Jesus say? Oh, he said, Mary, he stood at the foot of the bed and he was talking to me. And she says, I know that time. I know he was talking to you. But what did he say? And he said, Mary, that's the problem. Jesus stood at the foot of my bed and he was talking to me, but I couldn't hear what he was saying for the noise of the mouth. You see, we can be so busy as Christians, we can't hear what the Lord is saying. And Nebuchadnezzar, God had honored him, God had blessed him, and then he lifted up his heart. He didn't need God anymore. Daniel said, You knew this. You knew what happened to your father. Which brings us to his sudden death. Because the Bible says, In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans. That night, that night everything changed. And that is why I say the chapter opens with man's day. Belshazzar the king, gathering in the aristocracy, the community, having a great time in the palace, blaspheming the things of God. It ends in God's day. Belshazzar is before his God in eternity. For in that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldean slain. of sowing was over. Now he has to face the harvest. And of course, death is that final harvest. Death is threefold. Physical death, the result of Adam's sin in the garden. Spiritual death, separation from God. Eternal death, eternal separation from God. My friend, whatever you do in this world in God's name, don't die in your sin. Be sure you're saved. Be not deceived. Whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap. Can I ask you tonight, are you sowing to the flesh? That produces a harvest. Are you sowing to the Spirit? That produces a harvest. the prison all day. I'm reminded of a story about a prison chaplain walking through the workshops one day and men were in the sewing department. They were sewing things together. The chaplain walking through, just to make a point of contact, he said to the prisoners, men, are you doing a bit of sewing? As quick as a flash. One of them said, actually, We're doing a bit of reaping. There's always the day of reaping. And oh, what a day! What an awful day if we were to reap the harvest of the flesh. Friend, you're sowing tonight. There is a day of reaping coming. I trust your sowing to the Spirit and will reap life everlasting and not to the flesh, which the Bible says we shall reap corruption. Do not ulcer people, no, tonight. Just as Belshazzar knew, God is not live in sin, die in sin. You will be lost in sin. Christ at the cross has made a wonderful provision for your redemption, my friends. You can be saved. You can be sure. God wants you to be saved and God wants you to be sure. And surer than tomorrow's dawn, you can be sure. Because Jesus says, Him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out. Friend, Belshazzar died in sin. Don't die in your sin. Give your heart to Christ and do it now, for he says, Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. And dear Christian, let not the good times in our life take our eyes of God as Belshazzar died. There's a God to serve. We should serve Him. And tonight, whatever the need in your heart is, remember there's a corresponding fullness in Christ to meet the need of every heart. He'll save you tonight. He'll restore you tonight. He'll bless you tonight. Whosoever will, let Him come. Come to Him tonight if you don't know Him. And do it now. for Christ's sake. Let's bow together in prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the many exhortations and warnings in thy word that whatsoever we sow, that's what we're going to reap. And we pray that all of us who are gathered here, many who will come to this mission, if they are sowing the seeds of sin, that that will be brought to an end through their faith in Christ and might learn to sow to the Spirit. We ask that this night you'll perfect that which concerns every heart. We pray in Jesus' name, Amen.