The Writing on the Wall- Leandro Rizzutti

you. Hello, men and women. Such an honor and a blessing to be able to speak to you guys from right here at Life Fellowship Church. My name is Logan Williams. My TDC number is 1490218. I have four numbers after that. I spent 9 and a half years in Texas prisons in and out four years in prison. I've been through a lot of things. I've been through a lot of anxiety and just the depression that comes with that and just the idea when you just come back and back and back. It's like, man, am I ever going to get this life thing right? Am I ever going to figure this thing out to where this is not it? And God just got a hold of me. And I said, yes, he spoke to me. I said, yes, finally. And my life has just taken off like a rock. So, you know, anything is possible when you say yes to God. All the things that you're worrying about in there right now, you're not going to have

to worry about anymore because God's going to take care of it if you give him your yes. It may not be in the way you think it should look. But he is faithful. He is faithful. Hey, tell your friends and family to download the same Pando app. They can get it on their phone. Y'all can watch the same stuff together. Y'all can talk about it. Y'all can learn together. Do this walk with your family, man, and your friends, whoever it is that loves you enough to make contact with you while you're incarcerated. You know, we all have a million friends when we're out there running the streets doing things. But when we get handcuffs put on us and we get locked up, it's funny how many friends we're left with. So if someone is walking along with you, man, encourage them to get the Pando app and y'all do this thing together. It's vital to your walk. It's been so important in my walk to have good godly men around me

and to be able to speak into the life of my family as well. You know, I was reading first John this morning and I came across a verse. I just wanted to share with you because that's so important and it's things that I don't think that we truly grasp most of the time and it's first John 514. It says, this is the confidence that we have in approaching God. So, I mean, when I read a sentence like that, I ask myself, hey, how confident am I with approaching God? Are you confident that you can just come to him at any time and pray bold prayers? This is the confidence that we have in approaching God. That if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. I think the key phrase there being according to his will. Verse fifteen and if we know that he hears us, whatever we ask, whatever we know, we know that we have whatever we ask of him. And if we know that he hears us, whatever we ask of him, we know

that we have whatever we ask. I feel like I quoted that wrong but um I think you get the gist. He's saying we can come in confidence approaching him and that he will hear us if it's according to his will and if he hears us, then whatever we ask, we we're we're going to receive what that thing that we ask for if it's according to his will. And so, we need to come with confidence and I think a lot of us, man, especially when we're caught in like a sin struggle or when we're doing some things that we know grieve the heart of God, we have a hard time coming to God. It's hard to even approach God in our minds. This is wrong thinking. He wants us to approach him with confidence and know that that he has already given us this confidence in Jesus Christ, okay? He tells us the the writer of Hebrews tells us that we can come boldly to the throne of grace to find grace and obtain mercy to help us in our time of need. We can

come boldly. How? Writer of Hebrews, how can we people like me and like you, people that have ruined our lives, messed our lives up. How can we come boldly to the throne of grace and we can do that because Jesus has made a way through his perfect life, his perfect death that wherever we are and whatever we have going on, we can come to Jesus through his grace into the presence of almighty God because of what he did. Like we have the opportunity to come right to the throne of God and not die. I mean, back in the day, man, there was one person, the priest that could go into the holiest of holies and they tied a rope around his leg because being in the presence presence of God was so terrifying and so just intense. Like back then, if they had unconfessed sin, they would die. But he's saying today, I want you to come boldly, man, boldly, like not with your head down, not just kind of sneaking in, not just come boldly to the throne of grace because of what Jesus did, come with confidence. And when you come, have this confidence

that what God and you are gonna share together, it's gonna stir some things up, that he hears your prayers. And not only does he hear them, but that whatever we ask, if it's according to his will, know that we have whatever we ask of him. If we ask, because oftentimes I found in my life, sometimes I won't ask. Sometimes I just assume God knows. Sometimes I'm just lazy and I don't wanna pray. God, guys, I don't wanna be the guy in heaven that's in the line of people that did not receive because they did not ask. They have not because they asked not. It says that in scripture. I don't wanna be one of those people in heaven that does not have because I did not ask. We should take all things to the throne of grace. But when I read this in twice, it says according to his will it'll kind of change my prayers a little bit. Instead of me just being like, hey God, I need $75 on my books next Tuesday. Maybe my prayer could be, hey God, I pray that you would be my provider. I pray that I won't suffer any lack. And then just watch how he moves. He'll answer that prayer. Of course God doesn't want you to lack. Of course he wants to be your provider. He might not put $75 on your books on Tuesday,

but you're gonna find that you didn't lack for anything. And he might answer that in just such a way that you would have never seen it coming. I found that to be true in my own faith walk. We have to have this boldness and this confidence. We have to actually pray first. We have to actually take the time to sit down with God and come in boldness and confidence that he hears us. And that whatever we ask, if it's according to his will, he hears us and we will receive that. And so I just wanna challenge you guys with that, man. Pray some bold prayers. Come in confidence. Take some time. Look at the way that you're praying and ask yourself, man, could I change my prayers up to be more in line with his will, that it's according to his will? Because oftentimes, I'll pray for people that I want to be saved, people that I know that I love that are still on drugs, people that are hurting, people that are away from him. And I'll ask God, hey, can you just give them the same thing that you gave me in that hotel room when you called me out of there and I was able to give all those drugs away and walk out of there a free man? Maybe he doesn't wanna heal them that way. Maybe he doesn't wanna save them that way. But I can just lift them up to him,

knowing that he hears me and knowing that they will be healed. May not be this side of heaven, but his ways are not our ways. Let me just give you an example. Jesus goes before Pilate, right? And Herod, and anyone that knew him would be praying, God, deliver him from Pilate, deliver him from Herod. But he doesn't, he gets taken, he gets beaten, he gets crucified, he gets tortured, and he gets killed. Okay, to our fleshly mind, like, man, God didn't answer that prayer. How could God let this happen? But see, God has, his ways are higher than our ways, his thoughts are higher than our thoughts. He had a bigger plan that accomplished the things that are according to his will and not our will. So sometimes when things seem like they shouldn't be, God, how could you let that happen? He's got the big picture, and he will work it out, and he's always working. And I just wanna encourage you guys with that, that the believers that are down in correctional facilities, trying to figure out how they are going to change their life, get linked up with Jesus, get on the spiritual path, so that when they hit the gate, they will not come back to prison, they will not turn back to drugs and crime and sexual sin and all those things. If you think that you're just gonna be able to do it

because you're deciding to do it, it never worked for me. It takes work. The spiritual growth takes work. It takes picking up our cross daily. It takes laying down our life. And this is something that you can be practicing now while you're in there, because it's hard in there. It's harder to walk this out in there than it is out here. I can just tell you that from experience. Forces come against you in there. People hate on you in there. It's hard to find like-minded believers that you can walk with in there. It's easy to do that out here. If someone's hating on you or things are coming against you, you can just get away from them. We're in the world. If we need people to walk alongside us, we can just come to church. There's hundreds of people here that are like-minded. And if you want to get even more specific, you can join a group that has the same interests that you have. You can get super like-minded people around you. So my point is, man, if you can somehow try to put these things into practice in the places that you're at, you're going to be miles ahead by the time you get out. And for those of you that don't know him, man, Romans 10 says anyone who calls on the name of Jesus will be saved. You can do that right now. It is just that simple. Ask the Holy Spirit, man, to save you. Ask God to save you. Call on the name of Jesus to make you new. Surrender your life to him, whatever that looks like. It doesn't have to be perfect. Just to the best of your ability, then start putting these things into practice. Let me pray for you guys. Father, we love you. And we thank you for all that you're doing in the jails, in the prisons, the correctional facilities here at our church. God, how you've just linked us all together. They are part of our church family. I know that you're smiling down when you see that. And I know you smile even wider when one of them comes after they get out to visit us here at Life Fellowship Church. What a blessing that is. And God, I just thank you that you're moving. I thank you that you're calling tens of thousands of people every week to our videos, to our teachings, to our services. What an honor. What an honor to have a spiritual family that big. And God, I pray that I get a chance to meet every one of them one day. And so God, I ask that you would bless them, that you would just continue to reveal yourself to them, that you would chase after the ones that you're after that don't know you, that you would just draw them to you and let them know that how much you love them and that you are not angry with them, that all that was poured out on Jesus.

You're not disappointed in them, that all that was poured out on Jesus, that you are like a Luke 15 father standing on the porch, looking into the distance, waiting for them. And when you see them come and you will run to them and meet them right where they're at. God, I thank you for that blessing. So God, I pray that the message that they're about to receive, God, that they would land on fertile soil, that you would provide the increase in God, that you would just do what only you can do in their lives. Give them hope. Give them encouragement. Let them know, man, that you have a plan and a purpose for them that they cannot fathom or imagine. And we give you all the praise and glory in Jesus name. Amen. And you know, I just got one more question. Whose house? God's house. Let's give him some praise. Welcome, welcome, welcome and praise the Lord, my fellowship. Happy Sunday to everyone. It is a good day to be in the house of the Lord. Amen. Come on, let's put our hands together and worship him in spirit and in truth. How many are thankful that he fights for us? Amen. God is fighting for us. God is on our side. He has overcome us. He has overcome. We will not be shaken. We will not be moved. Jesus, you are here. You're carrying our burden, covering our shame. He has overcome. He has overcome. We will not be shaken. We will not be moved. Jesus, you are here. I will live, I will not die. The resurrection power of Christ alive in me. And I am free in Jesus' name. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. Come on, stand up, carry my burdens, carry in our burdens, covering our shame. He has overcome, He has overcome, we will not be shaken, we will not be moved. Jesus, you are here, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. I will live, I will not die, the resurrection power of Christ, alive in me, and I am free in Jesus' name. I will live, I will not die, I will be blessed in Juhi, Christ revealed, and I am healed in Jesus' name. Come on, let's declare His name. Come on, we praise God that God is fighting for us, who can be against us? There is nothing and no one that can stand against the power of our God. I don't know about you, but I am thankful that He finds you with me. I don't have to fight the battles on my own. Come on, let's declare His name. God is fighting for us, pushing back the darkness, lighting up the kingdom, that cannot be shaken. In the name of Jesus, enemies defeated.

And we will shout it out, shout it out. God is fighting for us, pushing back the darkness, lighting up the kingdom, that cannot be shaken. In the name of Jesus, enemies defeated. And we will shout it out, shout it out. God is fighting for us, pushing back the darkness, lighting up the kingdom, that cannot be shaken. In the name of Jesus, enemies defeated. And we will shout it out, shout it out. Say, I will live, I will not die. The resurrection power of Christ alive in me. And I am free in Jesus' name. I will live, I will not die. I will declare and lift you high. Christ revealed and I am healed. God is fighting for us, pushing back the darkness, lighting up the kingdom, that cannot be shaken. In the name of Jesus, enemies defeated. And we will shout it out, shout it out. God is fighting for us, pushing back the darkness, lighting up the kingdom, that cannot be shaken. In the name of Jesus, enemies defeated. And we will shout it out, shout it out. God is fighting for us, pushing back the darkness, lighting up the kingdom, that cannot be shaken. In the name of Jesus, enemies defeated. And we will shout it out, shout it out. God is fighting for us, pushing back the darkness, lighting up the kingdom, that cannot be shaken. In the name of Jesus, enemies defeated.

And we will shout it out, shout it out. Hallelujah. Come on, give Him praise, give Him glory. This morning, we just lift you up, so all across this room. Come on, can we just all lift our hands? Let's just worship Jesus this morning. Oh, Jesus, we come to magnify you this morning. There's no one like you in all the earth. You're holy. There's no one like you, Lord. Oh, there's no one like you, Jesus. Greater than our sin. Stronger than disease. You overpower the curse. Born out upon a tree. Come on, can we sing this together? Behold the blood of Christ. The perfect sacrifice. The precious lamb of God. Who takes our sin away. And stronger than the grave. You overcame all fear. Carrying through the veil. Your son has brought us near. Stronger, stronger than the grave. You overcame all fear. Carrying through the veil. Your son has brought us near. Behold the blood of Christ. The perfect sacrifice.

The precious lamb of God. Who takes our sin away. We behold you. Behold the blood of Christ. The perfect sacrifice. The precious lamb of God. Take Father free again. To bring us back to life. We thank you, Lord. I remember what you've done for me, Lord. How you saved me. How you washed me clean. How you picked me up. You turned me around. And you placed my feet on silent ground. We praise you, Lord. Jesus, your blood is so much greater. So much stronger than our sin. Yes, it is. Your blood flows so much deeper. Ever-saving till the end. Sing, your blood. Your blood is so much greater. So much stronger. Than death, hell, and regret. Oh, your blood flows. Your blood flows so much deeper. Ever-saving till the end. Behold the blood of Christ. The perfect sacrifice.

Precious Lamb of God, who takes our sin away. O Jesus, we behold you, behold the blood of Christ. You're the perfect sacrifice. You're for the free again. You give your life freely. Bring us back to life. Jesus, for your blood is so much greater. So much stronger than I knew. There's nothing that compares to you. Your blood flows so much deeper than ever. Come on, can we lift it up one more time in the room? Jesus, your blood, oh, your blood is so much, so much greater, so much stronger. Oh, when Jesus, your blood flows so much deeper than ever. Till the end, we behold the blood of Christ. The perfect sacrifice. The precious Lamb of God, who takes our sin away. Come on, can we sing that one more time? Come on, can we sing that one more time? Behold the blood of Christ. The perfect sacrifice. The Father freely gave to bring us back to life. Oh, precious is the flow that makes us white as snow. Yeah, come on. Can you just lift your hands? All around this room, just lift your hands, and let's begin to worship Jesus. We thank you, Lord, for your blood. We thank you for your body. And we worship you, Jesus.

We worship you. Behold the blood that makes me white as snow. No other fount I know, nothing but the blood of Jesus. Can we sing that one more time? Oh, precious is the flow that makes me white as snow. No other fount I know, there was nothing but the blood of Jesus. Oh, precious is the flow that makes me white as snow. No other fount I know, there was nothing but the blood of Jesus. Oh, precious is the flow that makes me white as snow. No other fount I know, there was nothing but the blood of Jesus. No other fount I know, there was nothing but the blood of Jesus. And what can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus What can wash away my sin? It was nothing but the blood of Jesus And what can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus Seeing how precious is the blood That makes me whiter No, no, I've learned how to know You can't beat the blood of Jesus And what can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus No, there's no other fount that I know It was nothing but the blood of Jesus One last time How precious is the blood that makes me whiter No, no, there's no other fount that I know It was nothing but the blood of Jesus There's something that just changes inside of us, inside of me

There's something that's different when we get into the presence of God There's something special that happens when we partake in Holy Communion And in a moment we're going to receive together I want to remind you of what the body of Christ What it does for us when we receive the body of Christ Scripture tells us we can be healed We can receive healing And so I don't know what you walked into this room facing I don't know if it's a physical healing that you're in need of Or maybe it's mental, maybe it's your heart is broken, your heart is heavy I don't know what that looks like for you But what I do know is that we serve a healing God And you can receive healing today So if you would break that body Representing that his body was broken Let's receive that together in faith, amen And the juice, which is his blood You know we've been singing about the blood And maybe that is a foreign idea to you But scripture tells us that his blood makes us as white as snow It wipes away our sins and our mistakes All of the moments in life when we've messed up That's what Jesus paid for He's washed us clean So Lord we thank you For your blood Let's receive that together Jesus we love you And we remember the sacrifice that you made for us So that we could be healed and we could be whole

And we could be in right standing with you We thank you, Jesus, and we worship you in your name, amen. Let's continue worshiping together. Thank you for the cross, Lord. Thank you for the price you paid. Bearing all my sin and shame, in love you came and gave amazing grace. Thank you for this love, Lord. Thank you for the nail piercings. Washed me in your cleansing flow. Now all I know is your forgiveness and embrace. Heaven's the land, seated on the throne. We crown you now with many crowns. You reign victorious. High and lifted up, Jesus, Son of God. The darling of heaven crucified. Worthy is the lamb. Worthy is the lamb. Thank you for the cross, Lord. Thank you for the price you paid. Bearing all my sin and shame, in love you came and gave amazing grace. Thank you for this love, Lord. Thank you for the nail piercings. Washed me in your cleansing flow. Now all I know is your forgiveness and embrace. Worthy is the lamb. Seated on the throne. We crown you now with many crowns. You reign victorious. High and lifted up, Jesus, Son of God. The darling of heaven crucified.

Worthy is the lamb. Worthy is the lamb. Thank you, Jesus. Worthy is the lamb. Worthy is the lamb. Worthy is the lamb. Seated on the throne. We crown you now. with many crowns. You reign victorious. You are high as the city of Jesus, Son of God. The dawning of heaven, crucified. Worthy is the Lamb. Worthy is the Lamb. Worthy is the Lamb. Worthy is the Lamb. Worthy is the Lamb. Seated on the throne, we crown you now with many crowns. You reign victorious. You are high and lifted up. Jesus, Son of God. The dawning of heaven, crucified. Worthy is the Lamb. Worthy is the Lamb. Worthy is the Lamb. Worthy is the Lamb. You are so worthy, and worthy to be praised. You are high and exalted and lifted up. You are seated on your throne. You forever and always will reign. You are majesty. What a privilege we have to be in your presence and to exalt you and glorify you and worship you and praise you and love you. Jesus, you are everything, because you gave us everything. You are everything that we need, everything that we desire, everything that we long for. Everything we find in you, Jesus. Thank you. Thank you for such a beautiful sacrifice. Thank you. Thank you, because you first loved us. Thank you for your love, your mercy, your grace. Thank you, Father, for coming to meet us here in this place today. Continue to sit in this service and fill it with your presence, as you've already done up to now. We love you. We honor you. We praise you. In Jesus' mighty name, we pray. Amen, amen, and amen. Isn't it great to be in the presence of the Lord? What a privilege we have, and what a friend we have in Jesus. Thank you for worshiping with us

today. As you take your seat, why don't you draw your attention to the monitors? You're here with us today. If this is your first time joining us, grab your phone and text the word NEW to 51010. We'd love to get to know you and help you take your next step at Life Fellowship. If you've said yes to Jesus, but you haven't been baptized yet, this is your next step. It's a simple moment, but it carries a lot of meaning. We'd love to celebrate that with you. Go ahead and sign up today. A couple of weeks ago, several families from Life had the opportunity to serve together on a mission in Montana. And one of the beautiful reminders from that trip is that God's kingdom is bigger than any one church, city, or state. As families prayed together, served together, and shared the love of Jesus, lives were impacted, including their own. And one of the beautiful things about being a part of a church family is knowing that what God is doing through Life Fellowship reaches far beyond these walls. We're helping strengthen churches, encourage communities, and point people to the hope we found in Jesus. Thank you for responding as God leads you. I'm so excited for all that God wants to do today. Me too. So let's get ready for the message. God, today we just pause and lift up our country to you. Thank you for the freedom we have to gather, to worship, and to call on your name. Thank you for the people who came before us, for their sacrifice, their courage, and their faith. Thank you for our families, our friends, and the simple moments we get to enjoy together. We pray for those who serve others every day. Keep them safe. Give them strength and peace. And we lift up our leaders. Give them wisdom, guide their decisions, and help them do what's right. Bring us together, God. Heal what's been hurting and help us move forward as one. And let revival start in us and spread across this nation. Lead us into the future with your truth and love. God bless America. Amen. Amen. Amen. God bless America. God bless America. Good morning Life Fellowship Church. Welcome, welcome, welcome for all of you that are here in the Autorium in our McKinney Campus.

And everybody that is watching online, especially our brothers and sisters in the correctional facilities. Let's give it up for everybody in the correctional facilities. We love you. You are part of our church. We love you so much. Thank you for just choosing to watch and join us this morning here. So, I'm so glad to be here. My name is Leandro. I'm one of the pastors of the house. I've been part of Life Fellowship for five years. I've been in ministry for more than 17 years now being a pastor. And just being glad to be part of this family here. Serve you and be served also by you. But let me introduce to you a little bit more about me. I have a picture here of my family. And from the left to the right, I'm going to introduce you to Mateo, Isabella right in front of me, Amanda, and Liam. And my beautiful, amazing wife, Daniela. Daniela happens to be our kids pastor here in our church, in our McKinney Campus. If you didn't have an opportunity to see all the things, the great things that they're doing, I recommend you just see because we do believe that the kids are not the church of tomorrow. They're the church for today. And we do pray for them. We want them to grow in God's word and all that. And that's the work that she does here. You know, being a father of four beautiful, smart, full of energy children, I want to ask you, please pray for me. You know, it's a lot. But, you know, God, God's been faithful. And I just see his hand and his blessing all over the place. And today we're going to dive together into God's word. And every time that I have an opportunity to preach, I like to remind people of a few things. One of the things is more than my words, the Holy Spirit will speak to you his revelation. So when I come and I preach, I say some phrases, I say some words, but the Holy Spirit will actually speak to your heart

because he's the one that knows what you need. He is the one that knows exactly what you need to hear. The second and very important thing is the word of God is not for anybody else, but for you. It's not for the person on their side. It's for you. So when I'm preaching, I want to encourage you to ask the Lord, what are you trying to tell me, Lord? What are you speaking to me? What are the things that you are speaking to me today that I need to learn from you, that I need to hear your voice? Amen. Everybody with me? Amen. Okay, great. This is a 12 o'clock service and that's good because we can spend like two hours here, you know, like this Brazilian here speaking for two hours. I tell you, we can spend here a lot of time. But you know what? I'm sure God is going to speak to you. amazing so or word today is in Daniel the book of Daniel chapter 5 the book of Daniel chapter 5 actually we don't have two hours the Brazil game starts at 3 so we have to go quick just kidding just kidding just kidding I'm sorry sorry for the joke okay great Daniel chapter 5 I'm gonna give you a little bit of a context we're gonna actually explore the whole chapter but I'm gonna give you a little bit of context so while we are exploring seeing the details of the text you can understand what I'm talking about okay so Daniel chapter 5 talks about the King Belshazzar the King Belshazzar was a very proud king the Bible tells us that in the first verses of the chapter 5 that he took he was having a great party and he took the vessels of God's temple from Jerusalem and he was drinking on those vessels and as he was drinking on those vessels and have a big party a hand just a hand came and start writing on the wall of the palace and as the

hand was writing on the wall of the palace the king started to be scared he was scared what's going on what is his writing and then he invited the wise men of his kingdom to come and try to interpret what was on the writing and then nobody could interpret what was in their writing so his wife remembered that there was a guy a godly man called Daniel that served the former king Nebuchadnezzar and he he was a man of God and then they invited Daniel to come and to interpret what was on the wall Daniel gave him the message and told him what is on the wall is basically your end the end of our kingdom and the Bible will tell us in the very very day he died the kingdom that his kingdom was over so the writing on the wall that's the title of the message today the writing on the wall you know maybe we can look to those verses and think okay what does a story of a pagan king has to relate to you and I today but every single story in every single text that is reported in the Bible there is a purpose for purpose for them and the way we need to interpret those things is through Christ it's through the cross it's through the lenses of the God's grace and God's salvation to us so whenever we read those verses we're gonna see God's love loving warnings to us we're gonna see God's gracious reminders to us that will attract your heart will attract my heart closer and closer to him so we can leave the purposes that he has for us so we can submit ourselves to his will and make sure that we're not leaving our own pleasures our own things but we are actually listening to his word and to his voice so when we say the writing on the wall many of us already heard that expression it means that the signs are clear there's something coming to an end the warnings are visible the outcome is near but in Daniel chapter 5 there was not just an expression like I just told you that was the end of his kingdom for you and for me this is God's grace calling us back to him and this is very important nowadays because a lot of people will think that I prayed once and I don't have surrendered to God so I'm fine I'm a Christian I'm going to church and that makes me a Christian I'm doing so we're gonna have all those things happening and then I assume that everything is fine even people preaching

the gospel if your heart is not surrendered to the Lord and you're speaking the right things but not surrender to the Lord you're not in the right path and that's what we're gonna see here throughout the text those are the things that the Bible show us through this text and I want to show you because God is calling all of us to live for him to live for his will so doesn't matter where you are at in your walk with God if you don't know God or if you know God for a long time the invitation today is for you to listen to the Holy Spirit what he has for you because he wants to give you life and life abundantly amen amen so the first and very important thing that we need to that that that is a friendly reminder there is a loving reminder loving warning that the Lord sends to us is that everything everything belongs to God everything belongs to God we'll see Daniel chapter 5 verse 2 and 4 says while he tasted the wine Belshazzar gave orders to bring the gold the silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem so he so that the king and his nobles his wives his co-combines could drink out of them then they they brought the gold vessels that was taken from out of the temple the house of God in which was in Jerusalem and the king and his nobles and his wives as he called combines drunk out of them they drank the wine and praised the God of gold and silver of bronze while iron wood and stone so Belshazzar was using something that was meant to be used for God for worship for praise of God all for his own pleasure he got the vessels that were supposed to be vessels used in the worship for God in the temple and he was using for a pagan party you know the problem was not just the cups getting the holy cups but that was the the heart the Belshazzar have he didn't notice that things are God's and not his he didn't notice that things didn't belong to him and were not meant to his own pleasure those things got entrusted him and that was that was supposed to be to God's glory we can say again okay this is a pagan king but I want to apply for us today is there anything in our lives that was entrusted to you and I that we take just for our own pleasures just for our own desires or do we submit the

things that we have from God that were entrusted to us from him we submit to him and to his will and say Lord what do you want me to do with this let me give you some examples so you can understand better I just showed you my family right here a few minutes ago right so whenever I see my family got entrusted me with my family my wife for example my wife is not for my pleasure I have to give my life to my wife I have to dedicate time to my wife I have to nurture her in God's Word because she's a daughter of God and I have to see her just like God sees her my goal is to bring her as close to the Lord as I can then I'm gonna be successful it's not for only for me it's not like Leander just for Leander no God trusted me and she's a gift but because he gave me such an important amazing gift he trusted me a daughter of his so I have to nurture take care of her just like he would take care of her my kids I have four amazing kids like I told you four amazing kids what is my responsibility with my kids it's not just for entertainment for you know just to raise them up and all and that's they gonna face the world one day and I have to prepare them for that I need to show them how to find answers in God's Word so they will face the world and they will know how to face the world because they have God's Word in them they know the importance of God's Word for their lives they see their parents that that we fear the Lord that we always seek in God the answer answers that we need. So you see how different it is when we look from God's perspective instead of a human perspective. We have a responsibility in everything that God trusted us, He also gives us responsibility. Was it like this in the Garden of Eden? You're trusted but you have responsibility. So for you and for me, what is that God had trusted you and I? That maybe we started treating as it just belongs to me, that's just for my pleasure, that's just for to do whatever I want. God trusted you for you to treat like He wanted you to treat. Is there anything in your life that you never asked the Lord how you wanted me to treat this or that? In your job, in your ministry, maybe in your church. Listen, we have responsibility in our church. We are the body of Christ. You know, when the Bible tells us that we are the body of Christ, we are all part

of the same body and we need one another. That means this, what I have is what you need and what I need is what you have. And because of that, we do have a responsibility. I need you but you need me. We do have a responsibility. If we see the church as a place that we just go to receive, we are missing. We are missing because there is not a better thing in this world than be used by God and feel that God is using your life to do something. Church, the days today, God is calling us to see things like He sees, to treat things like He treats because not even our lives is ours. Everything is His. 1 Corinthians chapter 6 verse 19 and 20 says this, or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you whom you have from God and that are not your own? For you have been bought for a price. Therefore glorify God in your body. You are not your own. Not even you are your own. And you know what? So you're not your own not just because God created you but because Jesus Christ came to this earth, lived the life you and I should live, died the death we, you and I should die and He rose again and He conquered, He bought our lives with a high price. And because of that we need to understand that everything, everything is not part, is not a piece, is not a little bit of the time, is not just this Sunday morning, it's everything. Everything belongs to God. The second loving reminder that He tells us is that God will get our attention. You know we live in a world that we are full of distractions. There are so many voices around us, so many things happening around us. We have so many things that will prevent us from listening to God's voice. And that's what happened with King Belshazzar. Look the verse 5 and 6 says this, that suddenly fingers of a human hand emerged and began writing the opposite, writing opposite the lampstand on a plaster of a wall of the king's palace. And the king saw the back of the hand and that did the writing. Then the king's face became pale and his thoughts alarmed him and his hips, joints loosened and his knees began to knocking together. Just moving forward all that I just told you about the king, so they invited Daniel and Daniel came and gave the judgment and all that. But the reality is the king was not in his rock-bottom situation. The king was celebrating. Everything looked fine.

Everything was good. They were having a good time. They were drinking probably of the best wine and the best drinks that they could have. They had the best, the good. But still, the external appearance didn't mean internal health. And that teaches us a lesson. That a lot of the times, we're most vulnerable spiritually when everything is okay. And I want to invite you to analyze yourself today. Because we are here in the United States of America, praise God, that reaches the most beautiful country in this whole entire world. We are in the best place of this amazing country. Maybe a big part of us, you have a job, you have a home. Maybe everything looks okay, maybe. But reality is, how is your heart? My question to you is, how is your heart? How are things truly inside of you? You know, a word like this is because God is writing on the wall right now to you and I. He's inviting us to analyze ourselves clearly. To look in the mirror of the world and say, God, how am I doing today? How is my heart before you? Am I treating the things that you trusted me the way you wanted me to treat? Am I taking care of my body the way you wanted me to take care of? Am I taking care of my marriage the way you wanted me to take care of? So, He's calling our attention. And that's for our benefit, it's not for His benefit, it's for your benefit. Because He loves you so much. Because He knows that, you know, there are many things that will distract you. There are many things that will say, hey, it's better if you leave this type of life, that you have this type of lifestyle. While the Word of God tells you that the best lifestyle you can live is at the foot of the cross. He surrendered to Christ.

He's listening to His voice. He's daily giving your life to Him, praying for Him, praying and asking Him His direction for your life. He's going to call your attention because He loves you. Because He knows that sin will try to prevent you from listening to Him. There are many people that are living in sin and if you are today, I'll tell you, stop right now. God has life for you. Sin is a deception. Sin is a deception. It will make you feel good for a short period of time, but it's going to cost you and it can cost your life. And that grows little by little. It's like with this king. He knew he had an opportunity, but still. And that's what I'm telling you. There are many things that will try to get your attention, get between you and the Lord. But the Lord is telling you today, give me your attention. Hey, son, hey, daughter, it's time to come back. It's time to come back to me. I have true life for you. I have abundant life for you. And you're just going to find in me. The world cannot fulfill you. The emptiness that you feel is because I am not there. Sin and anything that gives you pleasure will not fulfill you. Only God will fulfill you. And that's the calling of God for us. He's getting our attention today. You know, is it possible that we also get distracted by the routine? So we get too much the check the boxes, right?

Let's do the things that a Christian person would do. So let's go to church every Sunday. Let's do it. Amazing. Great. But again, how about our hearts? For example, we just had communion. Why do we do communion? Why do we do what we do? Do we do communion just because? the first Sunday and that's what we do as Life Fellowship or we do Comedian because God told us to do it every time that we would get together and then we would remember his sacrifice on the cross and remember that he would be coming back and he remembered that he rose again so you see that there is way more that there is much more beyond God wants you to see the picture full painted and reality is maybe sometimes we are just getting satisfied with a little but God wants to give you more my brother and my sister the reason he's bringing this message the reason I believe he's bringing this message is because he loves you so much so much he doesn't want you to live far from him to just be content with a little thing he wants more of you he wants the entire you he wants your surrender and when you do that you're gonna leave the way that he is that he has for you if God is convicting you his conviction is not to push you away his conviction is calling you back home the third and very important thing is that we need to respond to what God has shown to us we need to respond to what God has shown to us you know the Bible will tell us in general chapter 5 that the king knew what happened in the past the king knew what happened to Nebuchadnezzar the king knew all this verse 22 says this yet his son Belshazzar have not humbled the heart there your heart even though you knew all this this is very sad because one thing is for you to have the knowledge the other thing is for you to practice what you know one thing is for

you to know here the other thing is for you to know here I know what I do you know for example we all know that we need to forgive but when we are offended truly you don't need to reply out loud but when we are offended very badly how do we react do we find excuses to not forgive or do we quickly forgive do we find excuses just to to push people away or do we truly repent to truly ask the Lord father help me to forgive this person because I recognize that forgiveness sometimes is not easy but let me tell you this we're not called for easy things we're called for right things and because we are called for right things that's why we need the Holy Spirit because it's not possible on our own to forgive but God gives us the strength and give us the wisdom that we need to forgive how about repentance when we're caught in sin when we hurt other people when we offend other people are we quick to repent are we quick to say I'm so sorry I made a huge mistake out there was my my my bad I I made it all I'm so sorry what can I do to to fix it are we quick to do that are we just like we're already just hate the consequences of what we did are we truly repentant or we just have a remorse right a truly repented person repented person will say I need to fix this I never want to do that again and now I'll go away from this a remorse will say well you know what I just don't like the consequences of it but I'm gonna still leave it again one day maybe if they don't say at first but that's their heart and there's a difference of a heart right there and that's what the God is telling us today that we need to respond so we know all those things we know that we need to forgive even as a church we know that we need to love one another we need not that we need to make disciples to forgive to serve to practice holiness to prayer and unity the issue is not new information is not what we don't know the issue is practicing what we already know is obedience James chapter 1 verse 22 says this but prove yourselves doers of the word doers of the word not just hearers who deceive themselves if that was really obvious that you know here and you would practice James wouldn't tell us this but James said there are people that are just here and they accumulate

knowledge but they don't practice that knowledge that that God has given to them so we got to respond to what was given to us so again the question is not always do I know what God wants sometimes the question is what am I doing with what God has already shown me and last but not least grace calls us back grace calls us back the judgment was clear the verse 30 says that the same night Belshazzar the Chaldean King was killed on the very night he was killed that reminds me that kingdoms and kings are temporary that God is eternal that the kingdom of God is eternal and the friendly and the loving reminder to you and I is that everything that we can build here in this earth as special as it can be is temporary the only work that will last are the things that you do for God the things that he tells you to do so we need to ask what is your plan God and how can I serve you where I'm at how can I serve you better with the things that you trusted me how can I serve you with the gifts that you gave me God sees your heart God sees where you're at and I want to finish with this story I was pastoring a I was one of the pastors of a church back in Brazil and was a big church like 1300 seat auditorium was like a midweek service service was over everybody was leaving but there was one guy sitting right in the middle of the auditorium crying really hurt and broken I remember I was leaving and I said you know what I need to stop by him and ask him obviously and I went to talk to him and his name is Renato okay and I was talking to Renato and asking him why he was crying what was going on and he told me that he had fleed from his city he fled from his city to Sao Paulo to the big city because he he owed money for drug dealers there and and they were saying they they were about to kill him but the truth is he came to Sao Paulo and guess what he got involved again with the drug dealers so he was at the church at that night just contemplated the writing on the wall the writing on the wall for Renato was man your life is about to end because you're just doing the same things over and over again over and over again I had an opportunity to disciple Renato We spent more than a year together. We prayed together almost every day. We read the Bible, read the scripture,

went to retreats together, went to services together. I went to his home many times, prayed with him, cast out demons and everything that you can imagine. But one day I got a call from the police. Renato was trying to kill himself. He was in a bridge trying to jump. And thank God police caught him before. He asked the police to call me. And when I went to the police station, I had probably the most important conversation I had with him in his entire life, in our entire lives. And I told him, I said, brother, if you keep doing the things that you're doing, you're gonna die. And that's gonna be the end of your life. Long story short, from that day forward, Renato completely surrendered his life to Christ. He became a pastor. He was helping people to find the freedom that he just had found. He has a beautiful family that is surrendered to Christ. So when he surrendered, God showed him the new life that he had for him. The thing is, a lot of people, they need to hit the rock bottom, just like Renato, to find Christ. But for some people, like Belshazzar, maybe it's a party. I don't know where you're at. I don't know where your life is right now. Maybe everything is fine.

Everything is a party right now. Or maybe you're like Renato, whatever you are, the message is that the grace of God calls you back. My brother and my sister, the Father is calling you. I don't know how your life is right now, but he's calling you. Hey, listen, he's calling you. What's gonna be your answer? Are you gonna keep postponing, surrendering your life to Christ? Or are you gonna respond and say, God, I give you my everything, and I want you to make a transformation in my life? And then when you're faced with situations, will you respond according to the knowledge that you have from the scripture? Because if you do those things, I do believe that God will show you what true life means, just like he did for Renato. Amen? I want to invite you to stand. Listen. Bring him what he's already exposed. Bring him the truth you have delayed obeying. Bring him the gifts you have treated as your own. Bring him the heart that maybe have drifted. He loves you. And the reason he's calling you is because he loves you, and he knows that the best life that you can have is with him.

Let's pray. Father, thank you so much for speaking to us, for not leaving us alone, for always calling our attention. Thank you so much because you love us, Father. You keep calling us back. You keep calling your sons and daughters, Father, to surrender themselves to you, to listen to your voice. Father, I pray that this word, Father, that came to us this morning, some of us, Father, were convicted that we need to surrender. I pray that this word just create roots in our hearts and bring fruits to you, Father. Thank you so much for speaking to us this morning. In this, we pray and glorify your name. In Jesus' name, we pray. And all God's people in the house, come on, say, amen, amen, amen, amen. God bless you, everybody. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Praise God. Amen. Amen. stay standing with me for a moment i just want to pray a blessing over you our prayer teams are going to be here at the front we'd love to pray with you pray over you believe in faith for you so let me let me bless you lord i thank you for every single person that's in this room i thank

you for every family that is represented lord and i ask that you would guide us this week lord you would show us lord the plan that you have for us you would continue to speak to us in jesus name amen amen thank you you're dismissed