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Amen. Man, I was kind of nervous about the cup. Found it. I'm like, oh man, who took my cup? You know, but after chapter 1, go to verse 19. After chapter 119, that's the verse that I want to focus on, where it says, if it please the king, let there go a royal commandment from him, but let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes, that it be not altered, that Vashti come no more before King has her errors, and let the king give her royal estate unto another that is better than she. So the title of my sermon is simply this, the sin of giving in. The sin of giving in. Or in other words, you know, quitting. That's what I'm talking about when I mean giving in. I mean quitting, stopping what you're doing, you know, just like forsaking, giving up, bottom line. And when I think about people giving up in a Bible, this is why I wanted to start an answer, which is kind of like an interesting story, you know, because in this situation, the king just quits really quickly. You know, it's like, yeah, his wife's not being the best wife on the planet, and yet I'm wondering, like, what in the world? It was just that easy just to give up on her? I mean, it says that she's beautiful, you know, he wants to show her off, etc, etc. She disobeys him, he's having marriage problems, but it was this easy to just quit on his wife and said, I don't want to ever see her again, take everything she has, and we'll give it to another woman. You know what this shows me? That this is how the heathen act. This isn't how God's people should act, this is how the heathen act. Divorce, if it's this easy for you, you're just as bad as these heathens, you know, because King Ahasuerus, he's not the good guy in this story as Esther, amen? But go ahead and flip the chapter and go to verse number 17. Go to verse number 17, where you kind of start seeing King Ahasuerus and you may start thinking, well, I think this guy ain't so bad. And it says, and the king love Esther above all the women, so as to let you know what's going on, the king gets mad at his wife, Vashti. And he says, hey, what should I do? You know, he's talking to his counselors, his wicked counselors. He's like, hey, I got an idea, king, get rid of her, you know, because you know what, she's not only done wrong to you, she's done wrong to all of us. Once again, what is the problem here? Just when we spoke up this morning, it's fear. These guys are thinking, man, will my wife ever get Vashti's attitude? Man, you know, I'm gonna have some problems. Why don't we just set an example, king? Let's just get rid of your wife and get your new one. Hey, man, that's the easy route. Instead of him saying, no, I love her. You know, it's like, I've been in love with her for so long. She's the love of my life. You guys are a bunch of idiots. No, it's like, yeah, I like it. Let's get rid of her. Let's get rid of her. You know, but I bet you she was the only woman on the planet on the island with like 50 other men. She'd be like, Vashti, choose me, please, you know, stay with me. But isn't funny. You know, when he's got power and he's got money and he's got fame and he can do whatever he wants, it goes to his head and he forgets. Hey, how lucky to have a wife in the first place. Now he just wants to get rid of her just like that, just because he gave him some attitude or whatever. Instead of being a man about it and trying to fix it and make it work out, he's like, No, you're right. I don't ever want to see her again. Let's get rid of her. Hey, this is how we're gonna do it. But then I see in verse number 17 and Esther to where it says, Yeah, now he loves Esther above all the woman and she obtained grace in the site, you know, more than all the other virgins. Well, thank you, King has Harris. Thank you for choosing me above all these other woman that you're taking. And it says that he said the royal crown upon her head and made her queen instead of ash. Die. The king made a great fees onto all his princess and his servants, even Esther's feast. And he made a release of the promises and gave gifts according to the state of the king. And when the virgins were gathered together second time, then Mordecai said in the king's gate, that's our Hanaya shoulder kindred nor her people as Mordecai is charger for Esther did the command and Mordecai like as when she was brought up with him. In those days, while Mordecai said in the king's gates, two of the king's chamberlains baked and a there ish of those who have kept the door for Roth and something led hands on King has Harris. And the thing was known to Mordecai, who told it onto Esther, the queen and Esther should divide the king there of in Mordecai's name. And when it was issued, was made of the matter was found out. Therefore, they were both hanged in a tree, and it was written in the book of the chronicles before the king. So I don't want to show you this story. What is it teaching us? It's teaching us that look, things may not always be perfect, Esther. She she was thrown into a relationship with some guy who already had other women. I mean, think about that for a second. That's not a cool relationship to just be thrown in there. But you got to kind of understand that in a way it was God's will for this to happen, because later on she ends up saving her whole nation. You know about the thing I want to show you is that she didn't get better. She didn't get backslidden. She didn't say, You know what? These guys want to kill this dude. Good. It'll get me out of this relationship. Maybe I could just go back with Mordecai. We could just run. She said, No, I'm gonna save my husband's life. I'm gonna report this to the king. And it was very easy in my opinion. I mean, I just can't imagine being in your situation and being happy. You know, I mean, you're growing up thinking, Hey, my dream guy is this man, and we're gonna live together by ourselves forever and ever. Amen. And we're gonna have all these Children, the house with the white picket fence in the career, whatever, you know, who knows what she's thinking. But I'm pretty sure she's not thinking that. Hey, you know what? I want to grow up and marry some dude who doesn't really love me, and I'm barely ever gonna see. And he has all these famous power and all the other chicks that I gotta share him with. You know, I don't think she grew up thinking that as a little girl, but yet got through in this weird situation. And yet she didn't get bitter. She didn't get upset, and she didn't just didn't give in on life and just quit and got mad and upset. And we should find out that some guys trying to kill you know, the king, which I don't even think she loved the guy. How could you love the guy? You know, it's like, I don't know. You know, she made the situation as best she could, and she's an example to us that a maybe God won't let your life be picture perfect or whatever. But you know what? If you're breathing, he has to hear for a very big purpose, and that purpose is to get somebody save. I promise you that. And in the process of trying to find out that one individual, you're gonna get other people save. Perfect example of the Ethiopian unit. Philip is like, Hey, go to that guy, not just him. The guy that got Paul saved. The guy that got Cornelius saved. Peter, you know, it's like, Yeah, yeah, I understand that. I'll tell you to go preach the gospel every creature. But you know, there are certain people that I have you here on this in this world to get saved. Cornelius is one of them. If the open unit gets another, you know, and in the process, Peter, you're gonna get other people safe. But you know what? These like these are some guys that I've been watching my whole of their whole lives, and God says, I'm gonna I'm gonna send somebody their way to get them safe. And it's the same thing with us promising you that there's somebody right now on this planet that God is preparing for you to go meet and greet and get them safe. And in the process of finding out that individual or other individuals, you're gonna get other people saved by witnessing to them or planning. See so other people can get them saved. Amen. Because guess what? Cornelius somebody planned to see it in his heart. So this guy's a righteous man. He takes care of us. He's worthy of it. All right, I'm gonna send Peter. You could have sent anybody, but he says, Peter, I mean, think about it. What Peter got you say? Hey, I gotta say by Peter. How cool would that be? Amen. But what is the title of the sermon? The sin of giving in. And in this story is like, man, chapter one kind of shows me a quitter. King has heiress. You know, once again, just because you're powerful and you're famous doesn't mean you're really spiritually anything. You know, just that guy from the Avengers, Mr. Tough guy, tough all talk. And you know what? In one of the movies that I looked up, he actually used God's name in vain. He's like, Jesus Christ. He said, Jesus Christ. I mean, how many of you guys maybe if they pay you a ton of money, but how many of you guys would read that script and not at least flinch a little bit? Let's just say you're just backslid into the core and they're like paying you two or $10 million to be in the movie. You see the script and the writer literally wants you to bless God's name. Use God's name in vain. I mean, let's just say the most black, backslidden person on the planet. Wouldn't you at least feel a little bad knowing that, man, I don't want to say this. Why you want me to say this? Say it. We're paying you the $10 million or whatever. You know, instead of standing up and saying, Hey, Mr. Writer, I'm a Christian. You better get rid of that. Well, we want you to say that. We want you to bless him. God's name in this movie. And if you don't want to do it, we'll find somebody else. Then find somebody else. He didn't do that. He was in the king of has her errors. Okay. Gives up on God that easy. That's what he did. That actor. That's what he pretty much did. Mr. So called Christian. I mean, he's throwing himself out there that he's this big Christian. He's throwing himself out there that his church is such a loving church. They accept anyone. He's throwing himself out there that you know what? I just love people. I love people so much. I divorced my wife. I give up on her. He's like, Dude, you committed the sin of giving in the sin of quitting that easy. That's why I kind of want to start with the story with King answer areas. Big time quitter King answer twice the person that he is. We're situation ever than King has. There is a thing of cancer is your wife is beautiful. Yeah, she's giving you, you know, a little bit of a hard time, you know, but don't give up on her here. You got, you know, King answer here is probably treating answer like crap. Still dating these other virgins trying to figure out if I'm gonna do something with one of them or whatever. And yet she's continues to have his back. She doesn't get better. She doesn't quit on him, even though he quit on his wife. It's a could have easily said, Man, this guy cheats on me. What a crappy situation. I can't believe I'm in this this type of relationship, but she continued to serve God and worship. God even do the right thing and save his life by letting them know. Hey, there's these guys are trying to kill you. But if you have a Bible, go to Esther. It's just Esther Chapter one. I'm sorry, Ruth. Go to Ruth. My bad. Go to Ruth. You know, so what is the purpose of the sermon? The purpose of the sermon is to help you guys to stay in the fight, help you guys not quit. And that's what I'm gonna do throughout this whole sermon. It's just reminding not to quit, not to quit. And God doesn't accept quitting whatsoever. No matter what your situation is, whether you're scared, whether something bad happens to you, whether you just screw up or whatever the case may be. Hey, there's no reason to forsake the assembly, and there's no reason to quit on God. There's no reason to start backsliding and letting this go and letting that go. God wants you to do more, not less. Amen. And like I said, what do I mean by giving in? I mean, giving up, seizing, quitting, surrendering, dropping out, forsaking, pulling out, departing, fainting, seizing to resist. And if you're right there in Ruth Chapter number one, go to verse 15. Go to verse 15. What an example, Ruth. You know, if you don't know the story of Ruth, the story about, you know, a guy named Elimelech, his wife Naomi, her two sons, Malon and Killian. You know, they end up basically leaving their nation because there's a famine. So they're chasing money. They go into the land of the Moabites, and they break all the rules. Not supposed to do that. Supposed to stay in your land, stay faithful with the Lord. Not supposed to let your wives marry the heathen woman of the land. That's what ended up happening. They were just breaking God's commandments left and right. They gave in on it instead of being with God's people and sucking it up and maybe not having to fancy his food every single night or realizing, yes, this is a famine, but you know what? I'd rather be poor, you know, and be right with God than to be out in a foreign land outside of God's will, making money, hand over fist. Hey, that's the dangerous place to be. It's always better to be, you know, with the lowly, even though you may not have much. Hey, all you need really is the Lord. And God has given us so much. He's given a great purpose in life to seeking to save those which are lost. I mean, there's plenty of reasons to be happy regardless of your financial situation. Amen. But it says some roof. Go ahead and go to verse 15 says that she said, Behold thy sister in law. So what ends up happening is that Naomi husband dies. Her two sons end up dying, which is a horrible, horrible situation. Terrible situation. You tell the Lord is punishing her and she admits to it. Hey, don't call me Naomi. Call me Mara because the Lord has dealt bitterly with me because guess what? God can't let you get away with that because then you'll cause other people to sin. Imagine if she goes into the land of the Moabites and she prospers and they come back with a ton of money after 10 years and everything's picture perfect and this is a perfect situation with them. Other people gonna think, Well, I guess it's not such a big deal to forsake the Lord and go into the land and they marry, you know, quote unquote heathen wives. And guess what? God hasn't really done much to him. Hey, what am I doing here? Getting stuck with this famine. I might as well go chase some money myself. If the Lord did that for them, why won't he do it for me? That was probably could have happened. But God made an example to her. So when she came back, the whole land found out a it's not a good thing to forsake the Lord. It's not a good thing to give in and just move on and forsake the Lord and try to live life, you know, without the Lord. But it says in verse 15 I like the attitude. So what happens is Naomi says, Hey, daughters in law, just leave. Just go back to your gods. Go back to your to your nation. I have nothing to offer you. I have no more Children, you know, and one or pines up saying, Sure, no problem. Gives in that easy and takes off proof. It's like not so easy. Mother in law. I love you. There's nobody take care of you. I'm gonna take care of you. And that's where we're picking up the store in verse 15 and she talking about Naomi. And she said, Behold thy sister in law gone back onto her people and onto her gods returned out after thy sister in law. And Ruth said, And treat me not to leave thee or to return from following after thee. For whether that goes, I will go with our lodges. I will lodge. So it doesn't matter if it's a trailer park or imagine she's ready to lodge anywhere in the cave. You name it. I'm pretty sure if she went to a cave roof will be right there with her. It says, Wherever you lodge, I'm gonna lodge. Die. People should be my people. I love that attitude. I mean, doesn't it pump you up like, Man, this woman is awesome. You're people, my people. And I love this part. Your God, my God. I love it. Without diets. Well, I die. It's just amazing. And there will I be buried like, Whoa, the Lord do so to me. Also, if I put that party in me, man, if that was the attitude with you guys and Pastor Shelley Pastor, the Lord do worse to me if I depart from thee and this church and everybody else. He said, Your people are my people. This is my family. I'm not leaving no matter how ugly it gets around here. That's just awesome. You know, gotta love that story. But she didn't quit. She didn't give in. And of course, you know the ending or by who the heck knows what happened to her. But Ruth Oh, man, did she get blessed. She got blessed big time. And if you don't know what I'm talking about, read the last chapter of Ruth and you'll see that it's a very happy ending goes back to her land with her mother in law broke as a joke. Zero money has to go out there and work hard like a man. Not God's perfect will. But God made it work out in the end because she married who? A man of mighty wealth. And that's exactly what the Bible says. A man of great wealth. And that's what happened. She married him, had a child and from there came Christ. Talk about a very awesome, happy ending. So when it comes to giving up, be careful. Be careful in these situations, because these are the biggest reasons why people quit. And one of the biggest reasons why people quit is they quit when they mess up, when they get into sin, when they go back to the bar, when they get back into the marijuana. You know, I never smoke marijuana, but it happens. It happens. You know, people call me up like brother because I'm back smoking weed, man. Like, what do I do? You got to get the fear of God back in you. That's what I tell them. You got to go back to the first works. Got to go back to knocking doors. I bet you haven't been knocking doors in a while. No, not really. I kind of try to win. It's at work. What else? You know, Bible reading. Yeah, basically five minutes every other day. It's like prayer. Yeah, that's kind of gone by the wayside. And it's like, do you see why you're kind of weak? Do you see why it ain't working out so far? So it's just a quick reminder. You're right, brother. You're right. As soon as we hang up, open that book. You got nothing going on, lock yourself in a room and hit it until until your brain can't handle it anymore. And if the next day you still don't have the peace and joy that God promises you, do it again. Then do it again. Then do it again. It took 21 days for Daniel when he was praying and fasting, you know, to finally get what he needed. Finally get the Word of God that was helpful to him to start living for the Lord again. You know, but we spoke about Peter this morning, how when you think about a quitter, you probably think about Peter right away. I know I do, right? It's like, man, did he mess up? Man, did he quit and cause other people to quit. But you know what? It wasn't just him. If you hide your Bible, go ahead and go to, you meet me in 2 Samuel. I'll just read from Mark 14, verse 48, just to save some time. That'll give you time to go to 2 Samuel, chapter number 12, verse 12. Go to 2 Samuel, chapter number 12, verse 12. You got your phone, tablet, I don't care, whatever. Text somebody, email. I don't mind. Do what you need to do to get there. Mark 14, 48 says this, And Jesus answered and said unto them, Are ye come out? This is when they go to arrest Christ. And he's rebuking these people says, Hey, and Jesus answered and said unto them, Are you come out as against a thief with swords and with staves to take me? I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and you took me not. But the scriptures must be fulfilled. And they all, talking about his apostles, and they all forsook him and fled. That was a big mistake. They messed up. And as you know, Peter gave up. He ended up forsaking the Lord, denying him three times, and then he messed up even more. And then he quit even worse than he did when he just forsook him. But that could be any of us. We can mess up and think, Man, I cannot do this. I keep screwing up. Well, then you've got to cut something out. There's something that's causing you to sin. And the Bible says if your eye offend, you pluck it out. God says whatever it takes, do it. Get rid of whatever is causing you to sin. Don't make provision for the flesh. And a lot of times it's probably through TV, through the Internet. Something just sparks your mind hanging out with the wrong people, you know, causes you to just trigger something in your brain. It causes you down a path of sin. And you know what? You came in with saying God will strip you of your joy. You'll be miserable, which in a way is a good thing to get you to get back with him, you know. But worst case scenario, God, if you're still breathing, still wants you to do good. Romans six. What does it say? Shall we continue and sin? God forbid. God forbid. It's like, Man, I don't know what to do. Well, don't continue and say, you know, God forbid you should continue in sin. But the Bible gives us clues as what to do when we screw up. Second Samuel chapter 12 verse 12. Here's what it says. For thou did this secretly, but I would do this thing before all Israel and before the sun. And David said after Nathan, I have sin against the Lord. And Nathan said unto David, The Lord also had put away thy sin. When you blow up, when you blow it, this is obviously talking about David after he committed murder, adultery, you know, and try to hide it. And he was approached by Nathan says, Hey, you're the man. You screwed up. You know, you messed up. You kill your right. You killed him with the sword. And here he says they have sin against the Lord. Nathan says unto him, Hey, you know what? God has put away your sin. Not that he didn't suffer forward because he did. The child ended up dying, you know. But this is an example what to do instead of getting prideful and arrogant. Well, God knows I'm weak. God knows the pressures of being the king. God knows that this woman was so beautiful. I couldn't help myself. God knows this guy. God just wants you to say, I'm sorry when you mess up. And he doesn't want you to quit like Peter and take off and not come back to church again when you get offended or whatever the reason may be. But even when you mess up, when you blow it, it keeps her in God. Keep doing good verse 14. How bad? Because by this deed, that's a giving ready create occasion to the enemies and to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme. And yeah, you know, you may cause some embarrassment when you mess up. But if you're still breathing, keep going church. Still breathing. Keep doing the first works. What are the first works? Solvening, Bible reading, prayer, fasting if you need to. You know, these are the things that God wants us to do and help clean up your life. So just keep going forward. Realize there's somebody God wants you to save from an eternal torment, from eternal fire. And if you don't believe that, you just got to read the Bible. That's the whole purpose, seeking to save. We're continuing the mission that he had. You know, but yes, get right with them. Verses like Isaiah 55 6. If you have your Bible, go to James 4. Isaiah 55 6 tells us what God wants us to do when we screw up. He says, hey, seek ye the Lord while he may be found. Call ye upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous men his thoughts and let him return unto the Lord and he will have mercy upon him and to our God for he will abundantly pardon. God doesn't say let the wicked get out of my face and not return to me. I don't want to ever see him again. He doesn't say that. He says you mess up. Hey, don't give in. Don't give in. Don't forsake me. Don't quit on me. You know, don't think that I'm gonna understand because I'm not. The Bible says those that know the Lord's will and do it tonight are gonna receive many stripes. So he's not gonna let you get away with it. He wants you to be like that guy that has talents and bring some tan talents. He doesn't want you to quit, get scared, hide the talent and think, oh, well God understand my situation. No, he won't. You're just blind because you haven't been in God's Word. You have forgotten how God really is. You've forgotten his nature that he wants you to work. He wants you to put in some rewards and he wants you to do this willingly with the right heart. He wants you to clean up your life when you screw up, not quit on the life that God has given you. James 4 says this, the adulterers and adulterers says, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God. And that's kind of the problem sometimes when we mess up. We become too friendly with the world. We love the world way too much. And the Bible says clearly that which is highly esteem among men is an abomination unto God. So the coolest things out there that the world loves, guess what, if you love him too, you love stuff that God hates. And we need to be careful to, like the Bible says, let sin reign in our mortal bodies. Hey, everyone has sin. We all do. If you say you have no sin, you deceive yourself, buddy. No one here believes you. Well, I have no sin. I have none, zero. I can't remember the last time I sinned. If that's you, you're a fool. I'll help you out. I would love to help you out. But at the bare minimum, the thought of foolishness is sin, amen? But that come out of your mouth is stupidity. That right there shows me your sinning and you can't even see it. But it says, hey, friendship of the world is enmity with God. Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. Do you think that the scripture saith in vain the spirit that dwelleth in us, lest it to envy, but he give us more grace? Yeah, you're bad. Yeah, you have a wicked sinful flesh, but God giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resist the proud, but give us grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves. Doesn't say stop and run. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist. In other words, don't give in. Resist. Don't quit. Don't forsake. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners. Purify your hearts, you double minded. Be afflicted. Mourn. Let your laughter return to mourning and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord and he shall lift you up. Hey, he can still use you. He doesn't just want to keep you on earth to make an example out of you and show people how bad you are and show people your sins and embarrass the daylights out of you. It's not like you're going to sin and God still lets you live because you know what? He needs somebody to basically use as a pinata and beat, you know, left and right to release some stress off you. That's not what he wants. He says right there, he still wants you to humble yourself. He wants to lift you up. Just like Naomi. Think about it. She messed up. She screwed up. But at the end, guess what? Ruth got married. She had a grandchild and guess what? She's the grandma of the Lord Jesus Christ. A good grandma in a way. So God still used her because she came back humble. Like, hey, don't call me Naomi, call me Mara, you know, because I'm a dummy. I went and went and did what God didn't tell me to do. I messed up my life and the Lord is still bitterly with me. Let's continue. He that speaks the evil of his brother and judges his brother and God even helps you out a little bit. He doesn't say, hey, get right, humble yourself, draw out of me. He gives you some examples of what to do in case you're wondering how do I do that? How do I cleanse my heart, Lord? How do I get back with you? Well, start out by not speaking evil one of another. Start out by saying today he that speaks the evil of his brother and judges his brother speaks the evil of the law and judges the law. But did thou judge the law? Thou are not a doer of the law. God says, hey, actions speak louder than words. You want to get right with me? I want to see some action. Come to me. Ask me forgiveness. Become a doer of the law. Notice it doesn't say give up on the law. Become a doer of the law. There's one like giver who was able to save and to destroy. Who are thou that judges another? In other words, you mess up, you screw up, you quit on God, get back in the fight. We need you. We need you. Remember that guy Ledesma? I don't know if I ever told you guys this, but when he ended up coming back to our unit because he ended up getting hurt, he broke his leg in a training exercise. He was trying to go up the rope or whatever slip that was raining, came down really fast down the rope and cracked his leg. Well, sure enough, he can't run. He can't go to the gym in three months. He's just getting fatter and fatter because that's all he's doing. He's just doing security, meaning he's just behind the desk, just doing weekend duty with a cast on his leg. He just gets chubbier and chubbier and chubbier, gets weaker and weaker and weaker. Finally, the cast comes off. He's still limping, but they're like, hey, you're good to go back to your unit and you're going to deploy as well. And I begged them. I said, hey, I'll take the guy because I'm thinking that's another rifle that can aim at the bad guys. Who knows? Maybe that'll keep a few guys from shooting me. But then he frustrated the daylights out of me. But in the end, I didn't give up on them. If you were to talk to him, I'd say, you know what? My goal is to bring you back alive, even though, yes, I did try to kind of get rid of you in the wrong way. But this is how God is as well. Yes, we frustrate him. Yes, even to the point where he may even want to kill you like Moses, but you get right with him. He's like, you know what? What was done was done. Keep moving forward. Keep doing what's right. The last thing God wants you to do is to quit. That's what he doesn't want you to do. No matter how bad you messed up. Just remember this. If you're breathing, he doesn't have you here to commit sin. God forbid that you should continue in sin. What should you do? Cleanse your heart. Come to the Lord. Whatever punishment comes, take it like a man. Amen. And then keep moving forward. Become the just man like in Proverbs, that fall seven times and rises up again. Notice he wants you to rise up. Get up. What are you doing? Feeling sorry for yourself, Saul. Stop it. Enough. But he knew he wasn't going to repent. So he's like, hey, I know you're not going to repent. I'm going to take your kingdom and give it to David because David's after my own heart. So what do I do? Do what God wants you to do. You know, he wants you to do what's in his heart. Obey his commandments. Do what's right. So point number one, be careful when you mess up because that will cause a lot of people to quit. And it can happen to any of us. It really can. Take heed unless we fall. I mean, I can only tell you how many people I've dropped out of paperwork since I've been there for 11 years. People that you would think would never leave. People you think, man, this guy's hard core. People are like, wow, man, this guy's legit. It's like, wow, this guy right here, man, I want him to be my next buddy. And next thing you know, he's forsaken the church and even becomes an enemy of the church. And you're like, whoa. In the words of somebody that I know, he's like, man, I can't believe how people just fit in so well and then they leave and they just become enemies. It's just crazy. And we're not saying that they're unsaved. We're just saying that they start out great, but it's not how, one of the messages of the Bible is it's not how you start, it's how you finish. Hello, Solomon, right? The whole story of Solomon, all the bad stuff he did, not really to embarrass Solomon, to tell us, he ended up bad. And this can happen to you too. Versus Ruth, what happened with Ruth? Yeah, Naomi, you blew it. But look at the ending, right? That's just what happens. And the other thing I want to talk about is, hey, I spoke about it this morning, but don't give up when you get scared. Don't give up when you get scared. Hey, we're all human. We all have the capacity to get scared. But if you have your Bible, go to Second Samuel chapter number 10. This is important. Go to Second Samuel chapter number 10, verse number 12. You'll meet me in verse number 12. I'm going to read from First Corinthians 16, 13. First Corinthians 16, 13 says this, watch ye stand fast in the faith. Quit you like men. Be strong. Quit you like men. What does that mean? Hey, act like a man is what it's saying. You know, the old fake it till you make it. That's actually biblical. I used to hate it here and there. I used to hate it here and there. First time I heard that, I think it was from my wife before we were married. I think we were going to church. Something was going on and we were helping out the church. We were volunteering for something. I don't know if it was scrubbing a kitchen that hasn't been scrubbed in 20 years. I don't remember what it was, but I was having a bad attitude and I'm just like, how come you're not upset? And she's like, fake it till you make it. I'm like, what? So you are mad? Yeah, but I'm not going to show it. And that is biblical. You're right there in Second Samuel chapter number 10. Look what it says. Here's a quick verse. Be of good courage and let us not be the man, let us play the man. This is where they're about to go to war. And it's like, if you're scared, fake it. And even in military books, they tell you to do that. When things get tough, you know, I ended up listening to this audio book by this Navy Seal who brought up this guy who was a Spartan or something and they got attacked by the Persians. And I guess they sent a message, and I think this is in the movie, the 300 movie or whatever, which don't ever watch that movie. I haven't seen it, but people tell me, hey, it's horrific. But he brought up this story and I'm like, yeah, I know that. I've heard of this type of story where he got attacked by the Persians and they tried to scare him. They tried to say that our army is so big that our arrows would block out the sun. Have you guys heard that before? And he just turned it into a humorous situation and he said, great, then we'll fight in the shade. So I ended up saying, we'll just fight in the shade. And the troops were like, yeah. You know, there's this other guy, his name is Jocko Willink. He's a Navy Seal slash motivated speaker. Who's ever heard of Jocko? He came up with that video. Good. I like it. But that's biblical. Romans 8, 28. He makes a video, three minute video where his attitude is no matter how things get, how bad things get, his number one way of responding is good. They're like, Jocko, the mission is going down the toilet. Good. Jocko, hey, we're not going to get those fancy weapons that we wanted. Good. Jocko, your grandma died. Good. That was really his attitude. And they're like, boss, nevermind. What? I know what you're going to say. What am I going to say? You're going to say good. Good. Well, of course, because you know what? This guy, I don't think he's safe. I try to find out his testimony. He claims to be a Christian, an American, Christian loving, Donald Trump supporting type of Navy Seal type dude, which is not surprising, you know, pro-war and all that stupid stuff. But that's how God people should be. Because truly it is, it is true. You know, if the homos come and say, we're gonna, we're gonna burn your whole church and all of you in it. Hey, when the camera's on you, good. And I'll be in heaven. Right? We're going to rape all your children, cut off their heads and use them as basketball. Good. God will kill you for sure. Now try it. See what happens. Good. Good. What do you mean? Good. Because guess what? My God is real. Yours is not. This isn't me playing Christian. I am a Christian. I do believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. That's just what I believe. And that's what keeps me in the fight. That's just a fact. But like it says in second Samuel, be of good courage and let us play the man for our people and for the cities of our God, for our people. Key thing. Man, things get bad. Honey, I don't know what we're gonna do. Looks like Biden is gonna kill us all. Good. What? We'll all be in heaven, sick of this place. Right? Just remember that. Because that is biblical, right? For all things work together for good. Not to every Christian, but the only ones that can really stand up and use that and have power behind it are those that are right with the Lord. Baxley and Christian can't be like, good. No, they cannot. But you guys tonight can be like, good. You get a call saying, buddy, I hate to tell you this, but we got to let you go. Well, good. Good. Yeah. That means God will give me something better. You know? Hey boss, tell me if a spot ever opens up for me. You know, call me right back. I love working for the company. Whatever. Try to use that. You know? It's like, brother, your test came back. You know, positive for Corona. Good. You know? What's so good about it? I still haven't figured it out, but I'm sure there'll be something good that came out of it. Maybe you didn't want me to preach last time. Maybe you don't want me to preach this time. I don't know. I still don't know why I had to be locked up in my house, in my room for 14 days, and all my kids got sick, but they're all good now. But remember, if Jaco can do it, how much more shall we do it? He doesn't have God, but his attitude is no matter how bad things get, I'm always going to say good because it keeps my people calm under control, keeps me calm under control. And he truly does believe that, hey, things in the end will work out for the best, but I'm thinking Jaco, you're going to die and go to hell. He's like, please, somebody, when is the Jaco? He's not that bad of a guy. Somebody get him saved. And then Daniel, I mean, Chad drag means you're going to bend and go, these guys weren't faking it to the, you know, these guys had courage. I mean, seriously, let's read their story. Go to Daniel chapter number three, Daniel chapter number three, and I know I preached for like an hour and 10 minutes, so I owe you guys 10 minutes. What time did we start? About six, five thirty. Service ends about five forty five ish. All right. Look at the clock. Five forty five. I'm going to end that. I'm going to end the five forty five. Right. It's easier when you're running and you're hurting and you just want to quit when you know it. Man, it's just a mile left. I can do that. So I'm telling you right now, it's just a mile left. OK, so stay in the fight. Let's read about Daniel or in Daniel Chad drag means you're going to bend and go. Love this story. Verse number 12. There are certain Jews. This is where they're tricking King Nebuchadnezzar. You know, lying, railing. There you go. The LGBT community, there are certain, you know, Christians, you know, Mr. M Monty mayor, that if you let him stay in the city, the city will be turned into this hate group and it'll be all your fault and there'll be massacres all throughout the kingdom and all the LGBTQ is going to be slaughtered in one night. Mr. Mayor, it's good that we get rid of them. We need you to make a law, you know, that that if you guys want these people out, you know, sign this petition and we'll get rid of them change.org or whatever. Nothing new under the sun. There are certain Jews whom thou has set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. These men, O king, have not regarded thee. They are not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou has set up. Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded the being Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Then they brought these men before the king. Verse 14, Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego? Do not ye serve my gods? No, they don't. No, worship the golden image we have set up. Now, if ye be ready, that at what time ye hear the sound of the corny flute, harpsack, mud, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made. Well, but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour in the midst of a burning, fiery furnace. And who is that god that shall deliver you out of my hands? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to God, and I love this, Ho ho ho, Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning, fiery furnace. So they didn't even know they were going to get delivered. But guess what? They didn't quit. They didn't give in. They didn't forsake. They didn't say, man, what should we do? They knew what they were going to do. They probably got something from Daniel. And he will deliver us out of thy hand, O king, but have not be known not to thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and that form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Therefore he spake and commanded that it should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was want to be heated, like we spoke about this morning. What's going on here? He's afraid. He's afraid of these guys. But it doesn't mean he doesn't get angry. He said, these guys are challenging me. I'm going to look like a total punk. Gets mad. Gets upset. Can't think clearly. Heat that thing up seven times. And guess what? Because of his stupid fears, people get hurt. People get hurt. So what's the ugly thing about fear? Your fear can cause people to get hurt because you're afraid that this guy is making you look dumb in front of your friends. All right, I'll fight you, dude. Next thing you know, it knocks your teeth out, you know, because of your stupid fear that led you to dumb anger, that led you to make dumb decisions. And here's a dumb decision. Heat it up seven times more than it's supposed to be. But sure, it's going to explode. I don't care. Whatever it takes. And what ended up happening? They survived the fire, and many, many people got saved. And not just that, Nebuchadnezzar, he ended up getting saved probably when he saw the miracle down the road. He realized, hey, their God is an amazing God. And he made a law. Don't talk bad about Christians. Don't talk bad about the God of the Christians, because I will kill you. How's it done, Hill? Proverbs 24, 10 gives us an idea of what happens, you know, what's the issue behind people quitting. It says in Proverbs 24, 10, if thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small. They're spiritually weak. That's why they quit. That's why they fainted. I'll read from Acts 40, 42 or 540. Talk about the apostles. Well, to him they agreed. And when they had called the apostles and beaten them, it says in the Bible, and they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus and let them go. They departed from the prince of the council, rejoicing the Deborah County, worthy to suffer shame for his name and daily in the temple and every house that ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ. So what happened? They got beat up. They got beat up. You know, it was what it was. It was a scary situation, I'm sure. But God told them, don't be afraid. Don't fear. Hey, put faith in me. I'll take care of you. I'll protect you. And that's what ended up happening. Yes, they did get physically beaten, you know, but that's what ended up happening is that they just ended up getting beaten, but they didn't give in. They didn't quit. And things didn't get better. They got even more scarier because remember, we just read from Acts 5. Let me read Acts 12. It says this. Now about that time, Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church, and he killed James the brother of John with the sword. And because he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. Then were the days of unleavened bread. And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him and then after Easter to bring him forth to the people. And what was he planning to do? Put him to death. So in chapter five, they get beat up. Chapter 12, one of their guys gets killed. James gets killed with the sword. And guess what? Peter didn't quit. He didn't give in. It got scary, but what does God want us to do? Why are these stories there to remind us, hey, even if it's scary, keep serving me. Even if it gets ugly, keep serving me. Even if it's so bad that they're killing church members with the sword, hey, keep serving me. It will be a happy ending. I promise you that. It will be a happy ending. The mistake is to run, be in fear, and try to save your life. And what did Jesus say? Hey, if you try to save your life, you're going to lose it. But if you lose your life for my sake, that's how you really save it. Well, what if I get killed and I'm serving the Lord? What does God tell you? Be faithful to death and he'll give you a crown of life. He says, look, whether you live or you don't live a long life, you know, if you serve me, you're going to be blessed in this life and the next. That's how God wants you to think spiritually. I mean, look at the Apostle Paul, you know, 2 Corinthians 11. I speak as concerning reproach as though we have been weak. How bad whensoever any is bold? I speak foolishly. I am bold also. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? He says, so am I. Are they ministers of Christ? I speak as a fool. I more in labor is more abundant and stripes above measure in princess more frequent and deaths off of the Jews five times received by 40 stripes save one. So five times he got beaten five times. This guy is amazing. Thrice was the beating with rods. Once once I stone rice, I suffer shipwreck a night and a day. I've been in the deep with the sharks and everything. Man, in perils of waters and perils of robbers and perils by my own countrymen and perils by the heathen, perils in the city, perils in the wilderness, perils in the seas and perils among false. I mean, this is some scary stuff, some scary stuff. And I know that he was scared of certain times because he said in Romans, I preach even being scared. I still preach the gospel and wearing his painfulness and watch is often in hunger and thirst and fast is often and cold and nakedness. But yet he did not quit. Why? Because the Romans eight for reckon that the suffers of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that you're going to receive when the LGBT burns up your building. I mean, man, compared to what he went through, burning the building is like, whatever, man, I don't even want to brag about that. Look what Paul went through, you know, beatings, stonings, shipwrecks and perils, fastings, hunger. And man, it's just crazy. But he says, hey, none of these sufferings are worthy to be compared to the glory we're going to receive. This is for you. This is for me. It's not worth quitting. You're not missing out, especially in the next life. But the people that are going around breaking the lease of God's commandments and teaching others to do so as well, we are not going to count them happy in the resurrection, are we? No way. They're going to be like, I was a fool. Why didn't I stay at Pure Words Baptist? Why did I leave Faithful Word? What was I thinking leaving Pastor Mia hanging like that? If I could go back, right? Hate to reference movies, but let's just face it. I grew up watching a lot of them. Don't even make me get up here with a Braveheart speech. Yo, wish you can come back and be here this day and tell your children that they may take our lives, but they'll never take our eternal salvation or whatever. I don't know. Try to motivate the kids, right? So, hey, be careful when you mess up. It's easy to quit when you screw up. Be careful when things get a little tough. It's easy to quit when you get scared. You know, when things get a little crazy, right? And don't give up when bad things happen. When bad things happen. Because here's the difference between when things get scary. Sometimes things will get scary just because we're living in a wicked world and God needs to try your hearts to see what you're made of so He can use you for something bigger. It's just common sense. The military does it all the time. They got black ops that they need to perform. Not saying they're righteous, but they're not going to send some 18-year-old teenager that could barely handle the code, you know? Send his sister to rain outside. Hoodie on! Not making fun of my son, but he knows what's up. Take that hoodie off. What are you doing? It's sprinkling out here. This ain't rain, you know? It's like we're running in the cold. He's got his... I'm not making fun of you, son. I'm just saying that's how little kids are. They think they know what tough is. They don't know what tough is. He knows what I'm talking about. When we think we're tough and then we can put in a tough situation, it's like, man, I thought it was tough, but man, you know, such and such makes me feel like a fool. But we all know that God does not want us to quit when bad things happen. That's the whole purpose of the book of Job. But just because on the outside you're doing wonderful when bad things happen, God also counts the inside. Let's take a look. Job chapter number two, verse six. Job two, verse six. If you don't have your Bibles, that's okay. Just listen up. And the Lord said to Satan, behold, he is in thy hand. We all know about chapter one. He kills everybody that he's friends with, pretty much. You know, one guy survives, comes back saying, hey, this is what happened. Fire from heaven fell down. Your children are dead. Horrible, horrible story in chapter one. True story. Never forget, it's a true story. Job did exist. That really did happen. It's not just some story to motivate us. That really did happen. Chapter two, Satan goes at it again. Behold, he is in the hand, but save his life. So when Satan fought from the presence of the Lord, and smote Job's sword boils from the sole of his foot onto his crown, and he took him a posture to scrape himself withal, and he sat down among the ashes, then sent his wife unto him. Does thou still retain thy integrity? Curse, guy, and die. But he said unto her, thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh, why shall we receive good at the hand of God? And shall we not receive evil? Here's the part I wanted you guys to see. And all this did not Job sin with his lips, with his lips. See, it's also the inside that counts, because we can curse God in our hearts and be like, man, God, this is stupid, and get all bitter, and we shouldn't complain. Bottom line, God is complaining. We don't really have it. It didn't complain. If we're saved, we definitely don't have a reason to complain. When bad things happen, hey, Romans 8 28, Jocko style, good. I know it's hard to remember, but good, right? Thank you till you make it, man, right? Honey, I just got to a car accident, and the car's right. Good. Good. You know, honey, whatever. Good. But he just keeps saying good. And next time she'll be like, I know what you're going to say. You're going to say good. You ain't Jocko. No. It's not Jocko, right? It's the Apostle Paul. Romans 8 28. Jocko just not give him any credit. But this is the situation. Job did not sin with his lips. He didn't quit on God. He said, even if he slays me, he says, I'm not quitting. I don't care if he even kills me. I'm going to the bitter end. I'm going to follow the Lord. And even though it seems like I'm under chastisement, I don't know what's going on. He's like, I don't know what's going on, but I know God is great. If I'm being chastised, then I deserve it. That's one thing I know. And I don't know how long this is going to last, but you know what? I just want to curse the day I was born. That's how bad I feel right now. But he didn't sin with his lips. It's not like he's showing tough on the outside. On the inside, he's cursing God and wishing he, you know, he will do better or whatever. You know, this is an example unto us to be careful what we say on the inside and the outside. Remember, good. Make it till you make it, right? Play the man for our people. Luke 2 36 says this. And there was one prophetess, the daughter of Daniel of the tribe of Asher. This is in Luke chapter two. She was of a great age and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity. So she ended up getting married. She had a husband for seven years, but ended up dying. And then she was a widow of about four score and four. How old is that? Four score and four. 84. 84 years. Now it doesn't say she was 84 years. All it says is that she had a husband, had a husband for seven years from her virginity. So it's not like she was this whore that just slept around and finally got married. No. She had a husband, seven years, he died. Horrible thing that happened. The love of her life, her security, I don't know. Maybe she went back to her parents, I don't know. But one thing I do know, she didn't quit on God. She didn't quit on God because it says that she was a widow of four score and four years. So for 84 years, she was a widow for 84 years. Think about that. So if she got married at age 20, that makes her over 100. Over 100. Let's just say she got married, which I don't think this, I mean it could have, but let's just say she got married at age 15. Right? That still puts her at what, 99? 99 years old. So losing a wife, horrible, horrible. Losing a husband, horrible. Losing a child, horrible, horrible. Tough. Very sad. Men in the Bible mourn for 60 days. So everybody's different. You know, David fasted, prayed that the child would be saved. The child that was born from Bathsheba died. Then he annoys himself and goes back to work. People are confused. Other people, they mourn for like 60 days. Abraham, Jacob, they mourn a long time. So mourning is a good thing. The Bible says it's a time to mourn. It's a time to laugh. You know, when a child dies, a wife, a husband, you know, it's a difficult thing. You just don't know what's going to happen. But what's amazing is that at this point, I think she's over 100. And look what's going on in her life. She was a widow of about four score and four years, which departed not from the temple, which is today's what? Church. She departed not from the temple, but serve God with fastings and prayers. Fastings. What is that? Going without food. Maybe she was just the type of person that knew that some things just don't happen without prayer and fasting. Maybe she knew the Old Testament stories of people that went hungry and they ended up just, you know, being blessed by God for fasting. Says that she served God with fastings, prayers, night and day. Look at this. And she coming in that instant gave things likewise onto so she's not this bitter person. And spake of Him to all them that look for redemption in Jerusalem. What is she doing? She's so winning at over 100 years old. Because what does it say? She spake of Him. This is a graceful winning tip. Hey, if you get to the door and people don't want to hear it, look what she's teaching us. Spake of Him to all them that looked for redemption. Sir, are you not for sure going to heaven? I'm good. Not looking for redemption? Do what Anna did and move on. Sir, are you not for sure going to heaven? Not sure. Can you show what the Bible says? Yeah, I'm actually interested. Boom. They're looking for redemption. Give them the gospel. Because she didn't talk. Doesn't that say she spoke, you know, it says that, you know, she gave likewise unto the Lord and spake of Him to all of them in Jerusalem. It doesn't say that. It says she spake to all of them who look for redemption in Jerusalem. She wasn't force feeding anybody. She was going to the people that had ears to hear. But what am I getting at? This woman was not being punished. Her husband was taken early from her, you know, but yet she didn't give up. She didn't remarry. I don't know why. I have no clue. But she didn't remarry. She didn't get bitter. And instead she served God and she continued to serve Him. And she stayed a widow for 84 years. And now she's about 100, maybe 100. I mean, let's just say she got married at age 20. Reasonable, right? What does that put her at? 104, right? Think about that for a second. 104 is still knocking doors, fasting, praying, not leaving the temple. She's not a quitter. Why is this story there? It's weird because it's just talking about Christ. All of a sudden her story's in there to remind us that, A, even if you're doing everything right, even if you fear the Lord, bad things will happen because God tries the hearts. But don't quit when bad things happen. Don't do it. Don't ever quit on God. And I'll just wrap it up. Why? Why? Why? What's the big deal if I quit or don't quit? Because if you quit, life's going to get hard. Because when you quit, guess what? You just put yourself under a curse. Why? Because it's sinful to quit on God. He says, don't forsake the Lord and worship other gods. Don't become a friend of the world. I don't worship other gods. I'm back in the world. You're in sin. Now you're under a curse. And all these fears that you had, all these things that you were afraid of, stuff that you say, oh, if I stay at Pastor Mejia's church, you know, they're going to come after me. All your biggest fears will happen because the Bible says that the fear of the wicked shall, not might, it shall come upon them. You go to chase money because you're afraid that people aren't going to look at you as successful. Guess what? You will be broke. God will make sure of that because you're not trusting Him. You're trusting in riches. And He has to. He has to stop you before you get so rich that your kids probably are not going to want to hear the gospel. Because it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter to the kingdom of heaven. So when you're a billionaire and your kids are used to money, relying on their bank accounts, and they see all these fancy things, and there's nothing that you hold from them, and they get into fornication, they get into the world's music, and they get into whatever lifestyles, good luck getting them saved. Good luck. But you're afraid that nobody would give you any respect because you're not rich or whatever. So you decided, wow, I can't be, I can't be a faithful word. I can't be at Pastor Mejia's because come on, I'm a businessman. You know, it's like, I'm not, I'm not willing to lose my business to go to his church. He ain't worth it. Don't you think people are thinking that? I'll bet you they are. But guess what, Mr. Businessman? God can take away your strength like that. God can give you the corona and you won't taste anything like that. So be careful making God mad because He needs to find out what you're made of to use you for something big. And even if you do everything right, what does God say? God never promised you health and wealth. What a weird way to recruit, right? Hey, you follow me, the world's going to hate you. He's like, you follow me? I promise you this, tribulations, temptations, persecution. You want to join my cult? That's how Christ recruited. Hey, if you, if you're ready to, you know, carry your cross daily and follow me, let's go. Let's go. Oh, and they're going to hate you. And there's going to come a time when people think they're doing God a service by putting you to death. That's a great recruiting poster, right? I mean, is that what Joel has in his recruiting poster? Come to Lakewood, come to Lakewood. God loves you. Your best life now. Lakewood church is a loving church. We love you. Which is why none of you are going to heaven. Isn't that the facts, right? But in conclusion, Ruth, right? Job, right? I mean, name the person with the happy ending. Name a person with the happy ending. Apostle Paul, right? I mean, even James, James said, Hey, we count them happy that endured. Wouldn't you want to be the apostle Paul? You know, on judgment day. It's like, man, I can't wait to see what he gets because God says, rejoice and leave for joy for greatest reward in heaven. I can only imagine what it's going to be. I mean, has your husband ever jumped all in excitement and got all happy about something you bought him or whatever? No. Huh? Well, you're going to see him jump soon. Watch, promise you that. Unless he quits on God, but I don't think he will. But all the stuff he's done, let's just say he does quit. He's still going to get rewarded and we're going to be jumping for joy. Like what? What could it be? A mansion? Would a mansion really make you jump in joy in front of each other? I don't know. It's got to be a really cool mansion. I just can't imagine what in the world could it be that's going to make me rejoice and leave for joy? Because even if you offer me a billion dollars, I don't think I'll be like, whatever. I don't know. Maybe I will. Maybe I wouldn't. But I'm thinking to myself, it's got to be something crazy good, but don't blow it by quitting on God. And if you get to the point where you're like, well, God understands I'm just weak. I'm not cut out for it. Where's that in the Bible? Oh yeah. Here's your pass. Right? No. What's going to happen is you're going to receive many stripes because you know better. That's just the facts of life. But remind people, Hey, don't forget about Job. Happy ending. Don't forget about Ruth. Happy ending. Don't forget about Esther. Happy ending. Right? Paul, Moses, you name them. Yeah. None of these people were perfect. They all screwed up, but yet happy ending. Happy ending. It's a, it's a done deal. It's not like, well, I wonder how my life's going to turn out. Well, you stick with God. It's going to be a happy ending. I guarantee you that you can't guarantee that. Yes, I can guarantee that. Why do you think those stories are in there to remind us that life is hard? So, so it is for the wicked too. The way transgressors is hard, but the difference between us and them is we suffer for righteousness sake and they don't, they don't, they're, they're suffering in vain. Our labor is never in vain. Amen. So remember when you screw up, don't quit, man. Can't believe I just smoked this, or I can't believe I just drank that. I can't believe I just watched this or watched that. Hey, are you breathing? Yeah. Then God forbid they should continue in sin, get right with God, confess it and forsake it. And he'll have mercy. Cause that's what he said. He's going to do. Not just saying, God, I'm sorry, but confessing and forsaking. You'll have mercy. And he says, you will prosper. You will continue to prosper. Remember he will lift you up. Even if you blew it. Remember Naomi, happy ending. And don't forget when things get ugly, scary, don't quit. When you have to go into the fire or the lions, then Hey, God can deliver you. But if not, Hey, die trying. That's a cool ending, right? There's a cool ending. It's like, dude, this guy, he got killed by man. Did he stand up for the Lord? Wow. I'm going to, I'm going to do the same. And it happens because courage is contagious. When my buddy in the Marine stood up to these guys that were trying to make him drink, he hated alcohol. They're like, you don't drink. We're going to make you have duty every weekend until we get sick of you. That's how we get rid of you. He's like, do whatever you want. Say good, do whatever you want, but I'm not going to drink. When I saw that, I'm like, man, I'm going to do that too. Chris, you know, I forgot what it was. Drink this. Now I'm good. I don't like it. And then that became my best bud. Even to this day, I hang out with him or still have communications with him, but had I not hanged out with him, I probably would be a drunker just like every other Marine. But this guy stood up strong. He didn't care about the consequences. He had morals. And guess what? After that little trial, they didn't mess with him. They gave him a ton of respect. He became a Sergeant really fast because they promoted him because they wanted him. They felt he earned it. He had morals. He had strength. He wasn't a pushover. And man, had he not stood up for himself that day, he'd probably still be trying to pick up rank. But I think God promoted him because he saw him. But that's the ending, my friends. Stick with God. No matter how scared you are, how much you screw up and how ugly it gets, you know, regardless of whether it's your fault or not, God will give you a happy ending. Let's pray. Dear God, we thank you so much for all that you've done. Father, just help us to remember your word, Lord. Help us not to forget it because that's when we become fearful. So I ask you, dear Lord, to bless everyone here tonight and use this to the very end, dear Lord. And for those that are not here tonight, dear God, we ask you to just help them to get the strength, dear Father, to realize that your word is super important regardless of who preaches it, dear Father. And we thank you for all that you've done. And we ask you to just bless all this congregation in Jesus' name. Amen.