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["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] Good afternoon, Grand Rapids Church. Great to see you all here for our Sunday evening service. If you'll all please have a seat and grab your handbook. And, what we have this service is a song number 183. We begin this evening's service by singing a song number 183. Oh, how about another chance? ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] Let us receive each other, let themselves our fears ignite, the sweetest thing on earth. O thou art of Jesus, O thou art of Jesus, O thou art of Jesus, reversing this from me. He tells me of a sinner's love, who died to save me free. He tells me of a precious one, the sinner's birth in me. O thou art of Jesus, O thou art of Jesus, O thou art of Jesus, O thou art of Jesus, O thou art of Jesus, O thou art of Jesus, O thou art of Jesus, O thou art of Jesus, O thou art of Jesus, O thou art of Jesus, O thou art of Jesus, O thou art of Jesus, O thou art of Jesus, O thou art of Jesus, O thou art of Jesus, O thou art of Jesus, O thou art of Jesus, O thou art of Jesus, O thou art of Jesus, O thou art of Jesus, O thou art of Jesus, O thou art of Jesus, we rise, we burst, we rise. Amen. All the Lord Jesus, praise be to God. Lord, thank you so much for this day. May you all continue to start to sit while we're singing. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Amen. Amen. Amen. Let's start our hymn. It's a song of 310. It's a song of 310 footprints of Jesus. It's a song of 310 footprints of Jesus. Sing, O Lord, evermore the holy God of our holy name. May we sing with our true praise, for they bring us to thee. The footprints of Jesus, they make the path we go. We will follow the steps of Jesus with every move. Holy be the Lord, the way to save the rich and the poor. All of us who once were to kill, we will be free. The footprints of Jesus, they make the path we go. We will follow the steps of Jesus with every move. Make the way to death, all who will preach in the world. Holy works of God, they will be truly loved. The footprints of Jesus, they make the path we go. We will follow the steps of Jesus with every move. May they last well by this season's archeny now. The footprints of Jesus, they make the path we go. The footprints of Jesus, they make the path we go. We will follow the steps of Jesus with every move. The footprints of Jesus, they make the path we go. The footprints of Jesus, they make the path we go. The footprints of Jesus, they make the path we go. The footprints of Jesus, they make the path we go. 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The footprints of Jesus, they make the path we go. The footprints of Jesus, they make the path we go. The footprints of Jesus, they make the path we go. The footprints of Jesus, they make the path we go. The heathen of this world, they don't concern themselves with the things of God. So their motto is just, hey, if it feels good, do it. Live it up. Life is short. Get as much in as you can. Go out there and just live a very hedonistic lifestyle. Love pleasure. Pursue pleasure. Don't concern yourself with the things of God. And the reason why they spend their whole life in just seeking after pleasure and just going completely after that is because pleasure cannot satisfy in this life. That's the great irony to the hedonistic heathens of this world that are just pursuing pleasure, that just love pleasures more than of God. They have to just keep pursuing more and more and more and going after it and going after it and going after it because it does not satisfy. They are not contented people. That's why they just have to keep piling on more sin and more sins. That's why so many addictions in life just have to be increased and increased and increased in the degrees of quantity so that they can derive the same satisfaction from what they once did. The heroin addict has to do more heroin. The drunk has to drink more alcohol. The fornicator has to pursue more fornication because it does not satisfy. They're not going to reach a point where they just say, oh, that's enough. I've had my fill. No, they're saying, hey, tomorrow we're going to die so let's just get as much in as we can. Let's just live for self. Let's just live for pleasure. That's the philosophy of this world. And look, we don't have to look very far. If your eyes are open to this truth, you'll see it all around you. The world is just given to materialism. They're just given over to seeking pleasure. And the devil and the world that we live in is more than happy to just offer it up and to just give you all that you want. And you can just drink your fill, especially in the affluent society that we live in. I think we just very much underestimate how good we really have it in terms of ease and comfort and the opportunity to just seek pleasure with our whole life. People can do that, especially in the United States, especially in any westernized civilization where we've grown very accustomed to the many conveniences of modern life. We take for granted a lot of things that people would have been amazed by in the past. But what has it led to? People being more content? People being more satisfied with the things they have? No, now they need more. They want more. They want the next latest and greatest thing. They want more pleasure. They want to derive more out of it. They want more convenience. Because the great irony for the hedonist is that the pleasure you seek never satisfies. You have to keep seeking more. Here there in Ecclesiastes chapter 5, if you would look there at verse 10, it says, He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver. You know, the things that you love are not going to satisfy you. You're just going to pursue more of it. You're just going to have to get more of it. And he that loveth abundance with increase, he's not going to be satisfied either. He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver, and he that loveth abundance with increase. This is also vanity. You know, the pursuit of pleasure, the indulging of self, the indulging in sin, you know, it's vanity. And it's not going to satisfy anyone. If you would, go back to chapter 1. We're going to be in Ecclesiastes a few times tonight, so you might as well just keep a finger there. But Ecclesiastes chapter number 1, look at verse 8, it says, All things are full of labor. Man cannot utter it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear with hearing. You know, we can't see enough. We can't hear enough. The flesh is not satisfied with the things that we give it. It will always say, more, more, more. And that is why we are surrounded today by people who are hedonistic in their approach to life. That's why we're surrounded today by heathens who are lovers of their own selves that are covetous, that are just saying, I have this, but I want more. I want what somebody else has. That's why we're surrounded by these people who are lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God. They're more interested in their hobby than they are in what's going on in the house of God. They're more interested in, you know, their job. They're more interested in making money. They're more interested in just satisfying their flesh in whatever way it is than they are in the things of God. And, you know, that again is to be expected of the world. You know, that doesn't really surprise us. It really shouldn't shock us when, you know, we're seeing up the souped up car where they've just, you can tell a person is just investing everything in some, you know, basically piece of dirt that somebody polished and put some paint on and slapped on a couple of wheels. And that's really all a car is when you think about it, right? It's just some iron that somebody pulled out of the earth, bent it into a shape, put some wheels on it, you know, put some seats in it and then spray painted it. It's just dirt, right? But people, you know, they just spend all their time and energy in making that piece of dirt on wheels look like something, you know, fancy. They get the spoiler and the lights and the rims and the spinners and the tint and the decals. And we see it everywhere. You know, and then they got the music blaring. They got the gangster rat pumping out. And some kind of smoke, you know, they're in there burning rope. They're in there smoking their weed just rolling down the road. You know, that doesn't really surprise me when you just see that everywhere. It doesn't really surprise me when you go to these affluent neighborhoods and you can see where people have just spent all their life just investing in some home. They've got the, you know, they've got the perfect pool in the back being maintained. And like I'm not saying if you have these things that automatically makes you some kind of heathen. You know, they have the perfectly manicured lawn. They have, you know, just all the immaculate this, the home automation that. You know, people invest in this because this is what they want. This is what they pursue. And again, that should not shock us when we see that among the heathen. And really what I'm going to get at tonight is that that is not to be a characteristic that we as God's people have. You know, we should not be heathenistic in our approach to life. Heathens are going to be heathenistic all day long because that's all they have in this life. And it's just this hamster wheel that they're on in life. Just chasing pleasure and chasing pleasure and chasing pleasure and never being satisfied. You know what? You can have that. You go ahead and have that. You go ahead and chase the next thing and the next pleasure and have all your sin. And you can have everything else that goes along with it. You know, that is something that we just allow the world to have and not be shocked by the fact that it's what they want. But that's not something that should be ascribed to God's people. It should never be said of God's people that they are lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God. They are lovers of their own selves. We should not be people who seek to just indulge every fleshly, sensual impulse that we have. You know, God's people are called to live a life of moderation. To live a life of self-control. Not like the world. That's expected of them. Again, keep something in Ecclesiastes and go over to Titus chapter number 3. The Bible says in Philippians chapter 4, Let your moderation be known unto all men, the Lord is at hand. You know, that moderation is basically talking about your self-control. Moderate yourself. Think about what is a moderator. Somebody who's there to keep things in balance. You know, in a debate or something. Make sure that people are following the rules. That there's a structure there. That people aren't just doing whatever they want. Whatever they feel like doing. The Bible is saying that you should let your moderation be known unto all men. Other people should look at our lives and say, look, this person is not hedonistic. They're not a hedonist. That should not be something that they see. You're not like the world. You're not just seeking pleasure. You're not just seeking to please yourself and everything. That should be known unto all men. That when people think about us as Christians, there should be some things that they automatically assume. You know, that you love God. That you read the Bible. That you go to church. That you're not covetous. That you're not a drunk. That you're not a fornicator. You're not all these things that the world just is tripping all over themselves to get more of. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. You know, that's what the heathen fails to recognize. Is that the Lord is at hand. Whether they want to accept that or not. You know, God is at hand. After our last breath, we will be in the presence of God. It is appointed unto man once to die, and after this, the judgment. And we shall all give an account of ourselves unto God. He said in Luke 21, this is Jesus speaking, and he said, Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness and the cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. You know, we are not to be like that unwise servant who began to be said, My Lord delayeth his coming and began to be drunken and beat his fellow servants. You know, we need to take heed to ourselves and not allow, you know, this hedonistic society that we're living in to just overrun us, to overcharge us with these things. We should not, it should not be said of God's people that we are drunks. That the cares of this life are going to choke out the word that has been sown in our heart. Look at Titus chapter 3 verse 1. This is something that's just throughout scripture that we are constantly being reminded that we can't just let the flesh do whatever it wants, whenever it wants, that you can't be like the world. That God has not called us to that. We're not to be like the heathens of this world. We're not to be hedonistic in our approach to life. That we are to let our moderation to be known unto all men. That's how we're supposed to behave ourselves. It says in verse 1, put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work, to speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers but gentle, showing all meekness unto all men. For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving diverse lusts and pleasures. Diverse meaning many, many lusts, many pleasures. You know, there were some of us that we could, that is our testimony. We came out of a life of hedonism, came out of a life of living like the heathen, where we were given over to serving diverse lusts and pleasures. Look, that's the vast majority of people today. You know, most people that are going to come to this church that we reach out there with the gospel that end up coming here, or hear the preaching of the word of God and join themselves in this church, that is going to be how we could describe them. As is the case with many that are here tonight already. That we were at one time foolish and disobedient. You know, some people who might not have that testimony of having served diverse lusts, you know, we'll see here in a minute that they might begin to look at it. They might look at all the hedonism that's around them. They might look at how the heathen are living and say, man, I wish I could do that. I wish I could have the pleasures that they're having. I wish I could pursue the things that they're pursuing. But if you look there in Titus, it says there that we also were sometimes what? Foolish. The Bible says that living for yourself, that chasing diverse lusts and pleasures is a foolish way to live. It's stupid. That's another way to put it. It's a dumb way to live your life. To just seek pleasure and to just put yourself before everybody and everything else. To love yourself more than you love God. To just disregard God, to just, you know, to scoff at the word of God and to say, I'm just going to do whatever I want, whatever feels good. Look, that's a foolish way to live your life. That's what the Bible is saying. You know, and these people that, you know, it looks so attractive, it looks so good, the things that they're doing, look, they're fools. You know, you don't see everything else that comes along with it. Notice also that they were serving diverse lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy. Malice and envy. You say, well, man, if they're getting all this diverse lusts, if you're serving all these pleasures, obviously they must, you know, that must be a very satisfying thing. They must, you know, they must be happy people. Wrong. The Bible says that they are living in malice and envy. You know, and malice is like they're plotting against another, they hate other people. It says hateful and hating one another. They're not getting along out there. They're just envying one another, envying what other people have, envying what other people are doing. You can see why it's described as a foolish way to live. And it's not to be said of God's people. Look, it's for the heathen. That's for them. You know, let them have what they want to do. Let them do what they want to do. But don't let it be said of us that we live in this way. You know, and we should not envy the wicked. Go over to Psalm 73, Psalm 73. The Bible says in Proverbs 24, Fret not thyself because of evil men, neither be thou envious at the wicked. You know what that tells me is that there's a tendency for people to envy wicked people. I mean, it's hard to imagine why, you know, I mean, I guess I can understand it, but when you start to understand what wicked people endure, you start to understand Titus 3, that they're, you know, that they're living in malice and envy and hating and hating one another, that they're living a foolish and disobedient life, that they're suffering the pleasures. They might be enjoying the pleasures of sin for a season, but they're also paying the price for that sin. You know, it lasts for a little while. They're not satisfied. They're not content. You scratch your head and say, well, why would anyone envy that? But you know what? People do. Even God's people can, from time to time, envy what the wicked have, envy what the wicked are doing. I mean, why else would God tell us not to fret ourselves because of evil men? Neither be envious at the wicked. I mean, that's just one passage. We're going to look at another one here. You know, there's a tendency for God's people to feel like they're missing out on something. But you know what? The Bible tells you that you're not missing out on anything. What you're missing out on is a lot of hardship, a lot of difficulty, a lot of the consequences that come with sin. It says in verse 20, for there shall be no reward to the evil man, and the candle of the wicked shall be put out. Did I have to go to Psalm 73? You know, Psalm 73 is probably one of my favorite chapters in the Bible. This was something that I was told to read very early on in my Christian life, and it's something that really made an impact on my life, and it's something that I think about often. I'm not going to take the time to read the whole thing here, but I don't know why I was told to read it. I imagine I had said something where the person who told me to read it said, you know, this would help you. And it was kind of in the context of what I'm preaching tonight. Young in the Lord, having separated from a lot of my worldly friends, leaving a life of sin behind, trying to live for God, where I wasn't surrounded by a bunch of young people. It was kind of a lonesome existence in my church when I first got started. It was a lot of older people and families. I didn't have people in their early 20s or things like that. I was kind of isolated. I was told to read Psalm 73, and it was a psalm that really helped me out early on in my Christian life. And look, if you're somebody in the room tonight who is envying the wicked, you need to live in Psalm 73. You should probably just get in the habit of meditating upon this and thinking about it. And really let it sink in, what it was saying, what it says here. Because look at verse 3, it says, For I was envious at the foolish. Saying, look, I was envious at the foolish. And we looked at who are the foolish? People that are living in diverse lusts and pleasures. Foolish and disobedient. People who are just taking their fill of sin. We just looked at how that is a foolish way to live your life. And he's saying, look, I was envious at the foolish. We would wonder how anybody could envy the wicked. And yet here we have somebody in Scripture, a young man telling us that he was envious at the foolish. Why? When I saw the prosperity of the wicked. And look, the wicked prosper today. They have all the things, they have all the toys, they have all the money, they have all the bling and the flashy this, and they have all the cool friends, and they got all the girls and the dudes, and they're going to all the parties and they're doing all these things. And you can see how somebody who's trying to live for God might look at that and say, look, I'm envious. I'm envious at the foolish when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. Verse 7, their eyes stand out with fatness. They have more than heart could wish. They say, look, I'm going without over here. I'm trying to live a content life and they're just, you know, they've got multiple refrigerators packed with all the goodies. You know, they're like that friend that I grew up with down the road, my best friend growing up when I was a kid. You know, I was envious at the foolish. I don't know that he was wicked or foolish, but I tell you what, you know, I grew up, my mother, we didn't get any of the sugary cereals. Now, I don't know how it's done in your home, but, you know, the sweetest I got in my house was Frosted Mini-Wheats. All right, and those were pretty good. I was still a fan of Frosted Mini-Wheats. But, you know, I didn't have the Apple Jacks and the Smacks and the Golden Grahams. You know, every now and then we got Kix. You know, or we got Honey Nut Cheerios. Right, that was, you know, we didn't have the Lucky Charms and this. And I had this friend down the street, he had all of it. I couldn't wait to stay the night at his house and go to sleep as early as I could so I could just get up and eat all those cereals that I didn't have. And, you know, the Schwann truck was always stopping by his house, you know, and he had, his mom had the stand-up freezers with all the push pops and the frozen this and the frozen that. You know, I had another friend later in life with the same thing. They had just the cases of soda, all the fruit snacks, all the fruit by the foot and the gushers and all just the stuff that my mom just said, no, you're not having it. Here, have a rice cake. You know, make a sandwich. Have a salad. Have a soup. You know, have tomato soup. You know, that's, you know, and I could at the time as a child, you know, thinking I'm envious at this person for having all those things, but you know what? I wonder how they're doing today. I wonder what the dental bill is like in their house. I wonder how, you know, their health is today, if they continue to eat like that. You know, I'm just using that as an illustration. You know, look, we could look at some people and be envious because they have more than heart could wish. You know, we're trying to live here, we're living a life of contentment and self-restraint as God's people ought to. We're abstaining from the drunkenness and the fornication and all those things. And then, you know, it might be that because we still have this flesh to deal with, that we could begin to envy those that don't have to, you know, live that kind of life. That's what Psalm 73 is about. Look at verse 12. Behold, these are the ungodly who prosper in the world. They increase in riches. Verse 17 is the solution. You know, you read about the people that he's envious at, but he kind of comes to his senses when we get to verse 17. This is what snapped him out of it. He said, until I went into the sanctuary of God. He said, I was envious at the wicked, I was envious at the foolish, I saw how prosperous they were, they have more than heart could wish. But you know what, when I went into the sanctuary of God, then understood I their end. I went into the sanctuary of God and then it dawned on me why I shouldn't envy them. Surely thou didst set them in slippery places. Thou castest them now into destruction. How are they brought into desolation as in a moment? They are utterly consumed with terrors as a dream when one awaketh so, O Lord, when thou awakest thou shalt despise their image. You know, the wicked who are prospering in this world, who have more than the heart can wish, whose eyes are standing out with fatness, who have no bands in their death, who are not troubled as other men are, you know what, they're gonna snap at it one day like they're coming out of a dream. And playtime's gonna be over and it's gonna be a day of judgment and God is going to judge them harshly. You know, the end of the foolish, the end of the disobedient, the end of the heathen is hell. So why would I envy that person? Oh, I wish I could, you know, what that shows is just a complete disregard for God's grace in your life. You know, we should wake up in the morning and rather than envying a bunch of hell-bound heathens, you know, we should wake up in the morning and say, thank God I'm saved. Thank God that I'm on my way to heaven. Thank God that Jesus died for me, that I, you know, through the preaching of the word of God, I've come to an understanding of salvation in Christ Jesus. That's what we should be doing, not sitting there envying the wicked. You know, and if we did that, we'd be more likely to live a very contented life. If you would, go over to 1 Peter chapter 4, 1 Peter chapter 4, because that's the end of the wicked. Why would we envy those people? The only reason anyone would ever envy those people is because they have a very short-sighted understanding of eternity. You know, they don't have the proper perspective. They're just looking at the here and now. They're just looking at, you know, what the wicked get to do, and quote-unquote get away with it, because they don't have all the rules. Look, they're not going to get away with anything. They're going to be judged just like anybody else. Look at 1 Peter chapter 4, verse 1. For as much then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind. The same mind that what? That you have to be ready to suffer in the flesh. To do like Paul did, and to bring your body under, to bring it into subjection, to crucify the flesh, to die daily to self. Arm yourselves likewise with the same mind, for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin. Look, if you want to stop sinning, you want to stop getting involved in all these things, you want to stop living a hedonistic lifestyle, it's going to involve suffering. You know, if you want to cease from sinning, you know, it's going to be a fight. Verse 2, that he no longer should live the rest of the time in his flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. That's what we're called to not live to the lusts of men. Not to just pursue everything that the world's pursuing. But rather to the will of God for the time of our past, for the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles. When we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revelings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries, look, he's saying, you know, you've already had enough of that. In fact, what you had was too much. You know, suffice it. Don't sit here and continue to envy it. Wherein they think it's strange that you run not with them to the same excessive riot, speaking evil of you. You know, they'll say, oh, you're saved now, huh? Oh, you don't want to come to the party and get drunk anymore. Oh, you don't want to sleep around anymore. Oh, you don't want to be given over to lasciviousness and banqueting and all these other sins that you used to be into. Oh, you've changed. And they'll think it's strange. Oh, you're the Christian on the job site. Oh, you kind of stick out like a sore thumb because you're not into the same thing. You don't tell the dirty jokes and you don't get drunk on the weekends and do everything else that everybody else does. They're going to think you're a little strange. You know, the tendency might be for the Christians to say, oh, I wish I didn't have to stick out so much. You know, well, tell it to Jesus. You'll arm yourself to the same mind. You're going to have to suffer reproach. You're going to have to suffer in the flesh. That's part of the Christian life. But, you know, that's not a reason to envy them because notice verse 5. It's the same way in Psalm 73. It's the same end. These people who think it's strange that you run out to the same excess of riot, they speak evil of you. Well, you know what? Who, those people, shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead. You know, the quick meaning alive. You know, we're going to be judged. You know, those that are quick, those that have been quickened in Christ, that have been made alive in Christ, that have everlasting life, you know, we're going to be judged. But you know who else is going to be judged? The dead, the unsaved, the heathens of this world. Those who are going to speak evil and mock and say, oh, why don't you, you know, fornicate? Oh, why don't you, why didn't you drink with us? Why don't you party? Why don't you get involved? Why don't you chase all the same pleasures that we chase? You know, they're going to give an account to God just like anybody else. Except you know what? When we give an account to God, it's going to be something that we could, if we live right, not be ashamed of. We can actually look forward to that day. We can actually look forward to being able to hold our head up and say, and hear those words, well done, thou good and faithful servant. They don't, you know, the dead, the heathens of this world, they don't have that to look forward to. You know what they had to look forward? Depart from me, ye workers of iniquity. And that's what they had to look forward to, to just be cast into hell, into the lake of fire. That's what's awaiting them. Why would I envy those people? They should be envying us. They should want what we have. But sometimes I think they look at us and they see us just walking around like such miserable mopes. Oh, he's going to live his Christian life and it's so hard. I don't get to do everything they get to do. And they go, why would I want that? You're miserable. What they should look at is see us, and they should, our moderation should be known to all men. They should look at us and think, wow, that person is content. Wow, that person has, you know, a good relationship with their spouse. They have good children. They have a good life. They should envy us. You know, but if we're going to walk around like a sorry sack and just mope through life feeling bad because we have to live the Christian life and it's so hard, of course they're not going to want it. They're going to say, well, you go ahead and have that. I'm just going to keep drinking and fornicating and just chasing all the pleasures that I've always been chasing. Why should I want anything that you have? It's just going to make me miserable like you? No, thanks. That's the way it is, but that's not the way it ought to be. You know, we shouldn't envy people who are going to be judged by God severely for what they've done. You know, we should not envy these people. We should not want to live a hedonistic lifestyle, and we certainly should not go ahead and do that. We should not live in pleasures and lusts and all these things. We have to learn to exercise self-restraint. That is the Christian life. Christian life is a life of self-restraint. You know, it's suffering in the flesh, bringing the body under, crucifying the flesh. Go to 1 Thessalonians 4. You know, a lot of this has to do with, specifically with fornication because that's something that the world puts a lot of emphasis on. It's in all the movies. It's in all the music videos. It's in all the songs. It's what they sing about. It's what they show on TV. It's in the culture. It's in the magazines. It's just everywhere. Be a fornicator. Be a fornicator. Be a fornicator. And it's no wonder that the Bible deals so much with it and tells us not to do that. 1 Thessalonians 4, verse 3, This is the will of God, even your sanctification, that you should abstain from fornication. You know, the world will look at you in mock and say, Oh, what do you mean? Oh, you're saving yourself to marriage? Oh, you've never been with that? You're still a virgin? They would mock at that. You know, we should look at them and say, Oh, oh, oh, you have a venereal disease? Oh, you have an STD? Oh, you're knocked up? Oh, you have unwanted children? But it's completely backwards. Is that who the world's lifting up today? The pure and virtuous virgin? The person who's living, who's abstaining from fornication? Who's fulfilling the will of God and being sanctified? No. No, they're the ones that are being mocked and ridiculed today. And, you know, because of that, it could be that some people would rather not have to go through that, you know, embarrassment or whatever, be made to feel ashamed. They could begin to be envious. Well, why can't I, you know, go out there and fornicate like everybody else? Look at verse 4. He said that every one of you should know how to possess his vessel and sanctification and honor, not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God. You know why they go out and they fulfill those lusts? Because they don't know God. They don't know God. They don't know the commandments of God. They're not trying to please a Heavenly Father. They're not trying to earn God's favor in their life. What are they doing? They're just chasing pleasure. That's it. And it's vanity. It's vanity. Go to Luke chapter 12. I've got to hurry up. Luke chapter 12. You know, the Bible tells us in Galatians that they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. You know, we are not to be like the heathen. We are not to be hedonistic. We are not to just live life serving pleasure, serving self, chasing, being lovers of pleasure. We are to actually do the opposite. We are to call to a life to crucify the flesh and the affections and lusts. The Bible says in Romans 13, let us walk honestly as in the day, not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness. You know, chambering. Think of like a bedchamber. That's what it's talking about. You know, people getting together behind closed doors in chambers. You know, in groups or within other, just other individuals. And that's the kind of thing that goes on in this world. That's what the heathen do because they're just lovers of pleasure. Because they don't love God. They know not God. And this is the kind of excess that they have to go to. Nobody just starts out in chambering. You know, they just get with that one person. And then they get with another person. And then they find out this isn't satisfying so they have to just take it to the next degree. Look, people get into some, I can't even talk about it. But there's places out in this world where people just get involved in some of the most disgusting sins that revolve around fornication and adultery. It's filthy. But you know what? And ask yourself, are those people satisfied? Do you think those are satisfied people? Satisfied with their spouse? Satisfied with their position in life? Satisfied with what they have? Content? Are they satisfied with what's going to happen? Are they at peace with the afterlife? With what's to come? Do they have any peace about death? No, they're injecting themselves with chemicals and Botox and pulling their face back and trying to stretch everything. I mean, look at these Hollywood stars getting all this work done. They can't stand the idea of growing old with somebody or just looking in the mirror and seeing that they're full of vanity. But you know what? They've been doing a lot of fornication, haven't they? They've slept around a lot. They've sure hoard around. They might even have a lot of money. They've probably been to a lot of parties and lived it up. But are they happy? No, they're not. We talked a little bit about fornication. There's a lot of emphasis on that in Scripture. That we're not to be fornicators or drunks. And probably every other room has got that down. If not, come see me after the service because we need to have a talk. But the other ways that the seeking pleasure can show up is people that can just... We can become people who become hedonistic in the way that we're just seeking pleasure in other areas. Where we just want comfort and ease. Where we just want to be comfortable. We don't want to be disturbed. There's a great parable in Luke chapter 12, if I had you turn there, about the man who built his barns. It says in verse 15, Now look, that's another way that hedonism kind of creeps into people's lives. Where life just becomes about eating, drinking, being married, and just taking your ease. People who just want to just live for retirement. They just want to put in their 40 hours and then just go home and watch TV. And just zone out and just have their hobbies and not think about the things... They're not fornicators, they're not adulterers, they might not even be drunks. But they're just overly concerned with just the pleasures and the ease that life can afford them. And really what they are is covetous. Because they can't just... that all comes at a price. You've got to be able to get more, you've got to be able to put more in the barn. He's saying, My soul shall be required of thee. Then who shall those things be which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God. And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life what ye shall eat, neither for the body what ye shall put on. The life is more than meat and the body more than raiment. You know, there's more to life than your wardrobe. There's more to life than the food you're going to stuff in your face. There's more to life than just taking your ease and being merry. You know, that's another form of hedonism. That's another form, and I don't really have time to go into all that. I'm running out of time, but... So what's the antidote here? What's the solution? You know, I'm not supposed to be hedonistic. I'm not supposed to just be a lover of pleasure, whether it's sinful or otherwise. Well, you know, contentment is the opposite of this, isn't it? I mean, is that how Jesus started out the parable? Take heed and be aware of covetousness? What would be the opposite of being covetous? To be content with such things as you have. Go over to, or go back to Proverbs chapter 5. Proverbs chapter number 5. You know, we talked a little bit about fornication. So does God just, you know, we can't be fornicators, so God just calls us all to be like a bunch of Catholic priests, right? You know, if everybody did that, the human race would cease to exist. You know, because people would stop having babies, right? Is that the solution? To just live this overly austere life like some kind of Catholic monk? We just go to some monastery and flog ourselves and eat gruel because we're so holy? Because that's the other extreme that people will go to, isn't it? The world, they can either just overindulge, but then sometimes they'll just go to the other extreme and they'll just become these nuns and these monks and other things. Which is really just out of them just trying to show how quote unquote unholy they are. No, the middle ground is contentment. When it comes specifically with the issue of physical desire, that would be called marriage. That's God's will, that desire would be met in marriage. Look at Proverbs chapter 5 verse 18. Let thy fountain be blessed, and rejoice with the wife of thy youth. So it's not that God's just saying, oh, now you have to live this austere life. He doesn't want you being hedonistic, but what he is saying is you can't have any pleasure whatsoever. No. God is saying, look, a prudent wife is from the Lord. He's saying, let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe, let her breast satisfy thee at all times, and be thou ravished always with her hoof. And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embarrass the bosom of a stranger? For the ways of man were for the eyes of the Lord, and he pondereth his goings. So I don't want to give the wrong impression tonight that I'm saying that we as Christians are just called this life of just dutiful self-denial where we just never have any fun, where we never enjoy anything in life. You know, people get that idea that there's actually a middle ground there where it's not just full-blown hedonism, where you're just seeking pleasure, but you are satisfied with the pleasures that God allots us in life. And marriage is a very satisfying relationship, and not just in the physical realm, in the sense, also, you have a companion, you have a friend for life. You know, I've often thought of that, I don't know how often, but I've often, from time to time at least, thought, you know, if everybody else turns on me in life, you know, I still have my wife. You know, if the rest of my life falls apart, you know, and I'm just, you know, destitute of all other friendships and relationships in my life, I still have my wife. You know, that's a very comforting thought for me, not because I'm worried about that happening, but it just goes to show you that that is something that has allotted us in life, that we can have that relationship. That's deeply satisfying. Do you think that the person who's just hooking up with somebody at the club has that? They roll over in the morning and look at that other fornicator and think, oh, they're going to be with me no matter what, through thick and thin, rich or poor, or worse, it's sickness and health and poverty and wealth. No, they haven't vowed those vows. They're going to be up and out of there. They're probably going to forget your name. You'd be lucky if they call. You know what, maybe they'll leave you something else, an unwanted child or some kind of STD to remember them by, but that's about it. You know, there are, so again, don't get the wrong idea that you're just not allowed to have any pleasure in this life. No, you are. In fact, the pleasure that God gives us is more satisfying than anything the world has to offer. We talked about the covetousness, just seeking abundance, seeking wealth. The Bible teaches that we ought to lay up treasures in heaven, that we should go to 1 Timothy 6, and I'm almost done. So we're not called to this heathen. We are to crucify the flesh. We are to bring the body under. We are not to be like the rest of these heathens and live a heathenistic life. But you know what, at the other token, we're not called to live a very overly austere life. You know, an austere just meaning, you know, not allowing yourself any comforts, not allowing yourselves any luxuries, living a very harsh life, very minimalistic, you know, very plain, simple, to an extreme kind of life. You know, go back to that idea of a monk. You know, he just has his wicker bed and this one candle in the room. That's all I need, and this one robe, and this one rope, and one razor to shave just the top part of my head. You know, those fryers. That's all they have, just one little wooden stool. We're not called to that either. We are still allotted certain comforts, but that's not what our life should revolve around. Getting as much square footage as we can, having the latest, greatest, the best of everything. That's not, you know, that would be the opposite. The Bible says in 1 Timothy chapter 6, But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having fruit and raiment, let us be there with content. But they that are rich, will be rich, fall into temptation and ensnare into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil, which while some covet it after, they have erred from the faith, and what pierced themselves through with many sorrows. And then he tells Timothy, But thou, O man of God, flee these things, follow after godliness, righteousness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life. That's what we're called to, to deny all this desire of riches and wealth, and to actually fight the good fight of faith, to get involved in the work of God, and to lay hold on eternal life. And that lay hold on eternal life, I believe, is wrapping your mind around the reality that we are heaven bound. You might as well get a hold of that, lay hold on eternal life. Understand that what you're doing on this earth is going to matter in eternity. That's the same thing he tells the rich, verse 17, Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy. It's not like God is just calling us to an austere life. He giveth us richly all things to enjoy, that they be ready to distribute, willing to communicate, laying up for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life. He tells Timothy to do that, to lay hold on eternal life, and he says, And you, Timothy, charge them that are rich, that they live their lives in such a way that they also lay hold on eternal life. That they invest in the things of God on earth, that they use that wealth that they have, not for themselves, but that they are ready to distribute and willing to communicate, laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come. To lay hold on eternal life. You know, it goes back to Psalm 73. People that struggle, that are envious at the wicked, have not laid hold on eternal life. They don't have the right perspective. And what was the solution in Psalm 73? Until I went into the sanctuary of God, then understood I therein. You know, if you're struggling in this area of envying the wicked, of feeling like you're missing out on a bunch of pleasure, you need to get with God. And not just in church. You need to get a prayer life. You need to get with the Lord and get on your knees and confess. And you need to seek Him and allow Him to fill your heart with the fruits of the Spirit. And to be with Him and to allow Him to give you that contentment that only He can give. When you're walking with the Lord and you know you're pleasing Him, life's good. We could say, like the psalmist, Deny me not these two things before I die, giving me poverty nor riches. I just want whatever you have for me, Lord. And there's a lot more I could say about contentment. And I'm just going to go through this very quickly, but if you would, go to Ecclesiastes 2. I know I had you started on Ecclesiastes. Go to Ecclesiastes 2. When we live a content life, the great irony, and not in a bad way, is that it actually allows you to enjoy things more deeply. I believe that. Contentment allows you to enjoy things that are lawful more deeply. You know, the people, the heathens of this world, they have to continually seek pleasure. They have to be lovers of pleasure. They're covetous. They're envious. They're malicious. Because the pleasures that they do get are not satisfying. Not even close. But when we live a content life, and we begin to enjoy the pleasures that God does allow for us in this life, we enjoy those things much more deeply than the heathen ever could. The Bible says in Proverbs 27, this is a verse I think about a lot, is that the full soul loatheth in honeycomb. It's great because this verse can preach in many different ways. The full soul loatheth in honeycomb. Now, honeycomb basically was like their version of the candy bar, right? It was a treat. I mean, finding a honeycomb, you know, was rare. It wasn't just like today where we just had this abundance of sweets, you know. A honeycomb, who's ever eaten honey right off of a comb? It's really good. If you haven't done it, you've got to try it. You know, when you get that wax that's left over, it's delicious. But you know, the full soul, the person who has more than heart could wish, the person whose eyes stand out with fatness, they look at the honeycomb and say, oh, no thanks. They loathe it. Oh, I've got to eat some honey off a honeycomb? I'm so full. I've already got so many things. But it goes on and says that the hungry soul, every bitter thing is sweet. You know, the person who's hungry, blessed are they that hunger for they shall be filled. Those who hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled. You know, those that are hungering, those who are denying self, you know, even the bitterest of things is going to be sweet to them. You know, that's one way that that scripture preaches. That's how I'm preaching it tonight. You can flip that around too. Preach it a whole other way. You know, and people that have denied themselves things, they understand this. You know, I think about, you know, anyone who's ever done any prolonged fasting, and I'm not talking about just intermittent fasting. Like, people who have actually gone days without food know what this verse is talking about. Because, you know, when we're just constantly eating all these, like, highly edible, just very flavorful, very palatable foods like we have in abundance, where everything's just warm and soft and mushy and salty and sweet and just sweet. Ah, I just put it all in. You know, you get to this place where, like, nothing else is going to satisfy but more, you know, french fries and burgers and milkshakes. And then someone sets a radish in front of you and you're just kind of like, ugh. Like, hey, you want a cucumber? How about a cup of bone broth? Mmm. You're like, no thanks, I'll have the cheesecake. Right? But, you know, go a few days without food. You know, and then you're going to look at a grape and be like, oh, that grape looks so good. You're going to think about that bone broth and you'll be like, yeah, give me a cup of bone broth. Yum. Right? Why? Because to the hungry soul, every bitter thing is sweet. People who are not chasing after the pleasures of this life, who are content, they can enjoy things more deeply than the people who are just satisfying every lust of the flesh. That's what I'm getting across. You know, and again, that's not to say that you can't ever enjoy certain things. You know, for example, you know, many of you saw that photo where I was enjoying a White Mountain Burger up in Show Low. And for those of you who didn't see it, right, it was a burger that consisted of two glazed donuts in place of the buns with a big patty, right? You guys were there. I got witnesses. Bacon, an egg over easy, it was delicious. You know, and it was all sandwiched between, you know, but here's the thing. I really enjoyed that burger, but I don't eat like that. I don't eat that every day. You think that's what I eat every day? In fact, you know, that was the only thing I ate that day. Actually, I take that back. I had two bags of peanuts later when we were driving back from Show Low. But you know, I was able to enjoy that, and yeah, it was a little over the top, but it was special. It was a treat. You know, it wasn't something I eat every day. So obviously, there are, you know, there's going to be times in life where we can, I'm not saying that's an excuse to get involved in sin or anything like that, but look, some people would look at that White Mountain Burger and be like, oh, it's just another burger. You know, I look at that and say, wow, that's a very luxurious meal that I'm eating. It's a very over the top. Why? Because I don't eat like that all the time. Are you in Ecclesiastes chapter 2? So again, we don't want to be people that are just chasing every lust and every pleasure in this life. We want to be content people. You know, and God's not calling us to a life of just a strict, austere life where we can't have any pleasures. No, God wants us to enjoy life. And the best way to enjoy it is by, you know, allowing, you know, enjoying things within the confines of God's word. You will enjoy them more deeply when you do things God's way. The Bible says in Acts that he let not himself without witness and that he did good and gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with joy and gladness. Excuse, with food and gladness. Ecclesiastes chapter 2 verse 24. There is nothing better for a man than he should eat, drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labor. This also I saw that it was from the hand of God. You know, God has given us opportunity to labor and to enjoy the fruit of our labors. To eat and to drink. But not to an excess. And what we need to understand is that, you know, earthly pleasures are fleeting. Even ones that are lawful. You know, that marriage relationship is going to be dissolved in heaven. Therefore, they neither marry nor are given in marriage in heaven. You know, my wife's heartbroken about it. Right? But, you know, all the things that we enjoy in this life, you know, a lot of them are just going to go away in heaven. All of life's pleasures are fleeting. That's what we need to understand. But what does it say in Psalm 16? You know, the things that are going to satisfy in eternity are the things that are found in God. You know, I'm never going to get to heaven and look at the souls I want and be like, meh. Every time I meet the people in heaven that I want to the Lord, I'm going to rejoice. That's going to be a pleasure forevermore. Every time I have the rewards, every time I see the Lord, every time I hear his voice, every time I'm there with the saints praising God, that's never going to get old. That's a pleasure forevermore. That's what we have to look forward to as Christians. So don't spend your life moping around in the Christian life feeling sorry for yourself because you're not living like the heathen. Their pleasures are fleeting and come with a lot of, you know, a lot of hardships along the way. You know, the pleasures that we are allotted in this life, we can appreciate more deeply. Even those are fleeting, but we have heaven to look forward to. We have pleasures forevermore at the right hand of God. They're there in his presence. You think you're going to get to your mansion in heaven? You're going to look at your white, your linen robes in heaven? You're going to look at the crowns that you've been given in heaven? You're going to look at the souls that you won? Your brothers and sisters in Christ and be like, oh, this is lame. What else have you got? That's never going to happen. It's pleasures forevermore with the Lord. These things are with him. So don't get envious at the wicked. And if you're struggling, again, go into the sanctuary of God and he will help us understand these things. Hopefully I've helped you to understand that tonight. That we should live godly, content lives, that God still grants us pleasures. We can appreciate them, but we should not envy the wicked. We should not live as a bunch of hedonistic heathens. Let's go ahead and pray. Lord, again, thank you for the many good things that you give us in this life, Lord, beyond even salvation. Just the blessings that you give, the fruits of the Spirit. Lord, the love, the joy, the peace, the longsuffering, the gentleness, the goodness, the faith, the meekness, the temperance, all those great things that you give us. The fellowship that we have with other believers. The ability that we have to read the Word of God and to know and understand it, to have it speak to our hearts. And, Lord, the knowledge and the understanding that eternity is what we have to look for. That eternity in heaven with you, that we will behold the face of our Savior. That we will see him, that we will hear his voice. Lord, that we will sing praises to you. And, Lord, that we will be in your glory, Lord. Help us to always be mindful of these things. And to not envy the wicked that we are surrounded by. To not envy the things that this world is chasing after to no end. And, Lord, and to no satisfaction of their own. Lord, help us to have a right perspective. And, Lord, we love you and we praise you in Christ's name. Amen. Alright, we'll go ahead and sing one more song. Imagine. Let's turn our heels to song number 63. Song number 63, what a day that was. Song number 63. When the sun was coming in, When the heart was shut down, No more clouds he was sad, No more tears he gave me high, All the peace he never knew, All the help he only showed, What a day it was, what a day it will be. What a day it will be, When my Jesus Christ is seen, When my health belongs to this, What a day it will be, What a day it will be, When my Jesus Christ is seen, What a day it will be, What a day it will be, When the Lord will serve him, What a world the world is to live, What will save this place, What will go to the overland, And forever I will be, When the Lord will guide me, What a day, what a day it will be, What a day it will be, When my Jesus Christ is seen, When my health belongs to this, What will go to the overland, And forever I will be, What a day it will be, What a day it will be, What a day it will be. Thanks. ["Pomp and Circumstance"] 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, 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, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh,