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Amen. Hosea chapter number three. So this is a short chapter, but we're not even going to get through the whole thing tonight. We're going to get through about three verses of Hosea chapter number three. So Hosea, of course, just a quick overview. Hosea is a prophet to the northern kingdom of Israel. The northern kingdom of Israel is under the third son of Jehu at this point, Jeroboam. Not the first Jeroboam, but the second Jeroboam of the king, second king named Jeroboam in the northern kingdom of Israel. Of course, the northern kingdom of Israel is not doing what the Lord wants them to do. So Hosea is, God is using him for this object lesson. And he was told to go out and marry a harlot, marry a prostitute in chapter number one. God's showing the result. He's giving an object lesson of this woman as the nation, all right, as us, as we abandon God. And in Hosea chapter number three, you think, you know, it can't get any worse. It gets worse, all right? So in Hosea chapter number three, look down at verse number one, and let's just get into it tonight. The Bible says, so he is married, he's married a harlot in chapter number one, and then we saw that it kind of switched. Well, I won't give it away for you, but let's just look at verse number one of Hosea chapter number three. So they have already had children in chapter two, but look at verse one. It says, then said the Lord unto me, go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the Lord toward the children of Israel. Again, comparing now the children of Israel, not to a harlot, but to an adulteress. We saw this pop up in chapter number two as well, according to the love of the Lord towards the children of Israel who look to other gods and love phlegms of wine. So I bought her to me for 15 pieces of silver, and for an omer of barley, and for half a omer of barley. So he basically went and bought his wife back, and I said unto her, thou shalt abide for me many days, thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be for another man, so will I also be for thee. So just imagine this for a second, okay? Here's what's going on. I mean, this is actually happening. I mean, you're like great object lesson, you know, great. I mean, we can definitely see how this applies to a nation that turns to other gods, a nation that turns their back on God. But I mean, just imagine this actual situation for just one second. I mean, this guy has married. First of all, he married someone that he probably wouldn't have married if God didn't tell him, hey, go marry a harlot, all right? He said, go marry a harlot. So he goes and he marries this harlot. And then in chapter number two, if you just want to flip back there just for a second, what verse was that? It said, basically she had, I think it was verse number two of chapter two, plead with your mother, for she is not my wife, neither am I her husband. Let her therefore put away her whoredoms out of her sight, and her adulteries from between her breasts. Let's talk about the adulteries that are in her heart. We talked about this last week, but basically she went, in chapter number two, she went from a harlot to being his wife, to then being an adulteress, meaning this woman Gomer, this woman is not being faithful to Hosea, all right? And in verse number one of chapter three, if you look at, so in chapter three, she's literally, I'm just trying to explain to you the literal situation, and then we're going to apply it tonight, all right? But the literal situation is, she begins to commit adultery in chapter number two. Now, I mean, you could say, well, that's not surprising, I mean, told you so, buddy, you shouldn't have married her, but she begins to commit adultery to him, and then in chapter number three, she's not even with him anymore. She's not with him, she's off with, you know, the Bible says in verse one, it says, beloved of her friend, like, that's not like, you know, her girlfriend, okay? That's like her, she's gone to another man, is what the Bible is saying here, yet an adulteress, that's how we can say that. So she's literally left Hosea, she's left her husband at this point, but then God says, go get her back, go get your wife back, and not only go get your wife back, but go and, he doesn't say go take your wife back, okay? What he says is, go buy your wife back. So literally something that already belongs to him, I just want you to see how extreme this object lesson is, I mean, just put yourself in this, you couldn't even imagine yourself in this situation, but imagine your wife leaves you, she's your wife, she's with someone else, she's committing adultery with somebody else, and God is like, go buy her back. I mean, obviously this woman can be purchased, I mean, she's that type of woman, and he's saying, go purchase her back, and, you know, he doesn't say take her back, he says, go literally use your money to buy her back. I mean, that's a pretty good Romans 5-8 right there. You know, God commended his love toward us, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. So that's a really great application of just what Christ did for us right there, how we weren't these great, I mean, we were adulteress, we were adulteress, we had turned our backs, we were sinners, we were, you know, not following what God says, and God purchased us with the blood of Jesus Christ. So that's just a great application right there of us individually, but I want to really focus on this transition of this harlot to wife to adulteress, and I want to really apply that tonight. Just follow me, if you will, for just a few minutes while I set up the lesson for this evening. Turn to Ezekiel chapter number 16. So this isn't the only time that a nation or someone turning on God is compared to and harlot, a prostitute, or the Bible even uses the word whore here in Ezekiel chapter number 16. It's a Bible word, don't let that scare you. Look at Ezekiel chapter number 16 and look at verse number 31. Ezekiel chapter 16, look at verse number 31. So here we see this contrast between a harlot and an adulteress. We're going to see that in verse number 31 through 33 here in Ezekiel chapter 16. Are you there? Look down at verse 31. It says, And that thou bittest thine eminent place in the head of every way, and makest thine high place in every street, and has not been as in harlot, and that thou scornest higher. So now he's kind of, he's calling out an adulteress here. He's saying you've not been as an harlot. He says, but as a wife that commiteth adultery. You see the difference there? So he's pointing out, if we could read many verses up and he really explains the harlot part of it, but he's basically saying that he's talking to this adulteress wife and he says, you have not been as a harlot because you scorn higher. What does that mean? It means you don't take money. You don't take money. Look at verse number 33. Now you want to talk about the Bible just giving it to you straight as it is. It says they give gifts to all whores. The Bible says like prostitutes, harlots, they're getting gifts. They're getting paid, is what the Bible says. But thou, who's he talking to? He's talking to up in verse 32, he's talking about the wife that commiteth adultery. He says, but thou giveth thy gifts to all thy lovers. It's exactly opposite. It's not only that the adulteress woman is not getting paid, she's literally paying to do what she used to do for hire is the case in Hosea. And hire is them, look at this, that they may come unto thee on every side for thy whoredom. So look, I mean, the sin is kind of the same, right? It's like whoredom. It's either fornication or it turned into adultery at, you know, I mean, it's not the same, but it's the same, you know, category, so to speak. But what the Bible here is saying is like it's worse to be an adulteress because at least the harlot is getting paid for it. The adulteress is literally in that whoredom and literally paying to be in that whoredom. I mean, the Bible is kind of giving us like an economics lesson here. I mean, if you think about it, like, what are you talking about? I mean, this isn't the point of the sermon, but I want to like apply like fornication to this just for a couple seconds. All right, if you just look at fornication. So basically, the Bible in Ezekiel chapter 16, verse number 31 is saying that there is something that this woman has to sell. And she is selling, she's hiring herself out, and she's doing this whoredom, but she's getting paid for it. All right, and then we see the other extreme of that is the adulteress woman who's literally paying to do that. All right, and I'm going to apply that back to Hosea chapter two in just a few minutes or towards the end of the sermon. But with fornication, with fornication, it's kind of in between there. Fornication is, I mean, if women, if young ladies would just think about fornication and the things that are being taught about fornication in this world today, I mean, they just need to learn economics. And it's not a hard economics lesson because you can't even compare, the Bible says flee fornication, but the Bible also, you know, taught, I mean, the Bible values a woman's purity, like to an extreme, to the point where it is, I mean, people are like, oh, the Bible is against women. No, no, no, no, no, the Bible is the only thing for women that I'm seeing in this world that I'm looking at today. The Bible, I mean, you can't even really put, you can't put a price on it, it's priceless. So a woman's purity and that she would go to her wedding day, you know, I mean, it's in the Old Testament, it's in the New Testament, it is literally, you can't put a price on it. But I mean, let's just say, but just think about the economics of this for a second. What would you think? What would you think? I mean, this is to all the young ladies that are being brainwashed today. What would you think of someone that did this? What would you think? So I used to have, I used to do some internet consulting. And one of the branches of that internet consulting was that I would help people that had gotten scammed out of a lot of money, been locked out of bank accounts, locked out of email accounts, all these things. And probably 95% of those people were older people. And it was such a sad thing because I would meet these older people and I would help these older people. And what they were contacted by somebody through email. A lot of times they just didn't even know what website they were on and they were filling out information. They gave access to their accounts and things like this. And then they got locked out, they got ripped off, they got things stolen from them. But just think about this for a second. And I would think about that. I would think about that when I was trying to help these people. And the sad thing is, once all that information and those accounts were given away like that, there was very little that you could even do for them. These people literally just would get away scot-free. But I would just think like, what kind of wicked demonic person could just do that for a living? Just go rip people off? Especially like older people that didn't have any idea what was going on. I mean, ripping anybody off is bad enough. But I mean, just help. I mean, they're after the most helpless people they can find. I mean, these are just terrible human beings that do this. But now think about this for a second. What would you think of someone that took your grandmother or someone that you loved and just convinced and she maybe all she had in this world was her house? And this isn't even a good comparison because you can put a price on a house, you can re-buy a house, you can get another house, you can get another car, you can get other material things. But what would you think even just if we just broke it down to something of value like that? What would you think of someone that just convinced or scammed your grandmother to give away her house for free? What would you think of that person? Can you imagine a family? Can you imagine, let's say this grandmother, the grandfather died, let's say that there was 30 grandkids and 100 great grandkids and they all loved this grandmother and all this and they heard that this happened to their grandma. You know how angry people would be? People would be out for someone's head. People would be after these, I mean, it would be, look, it happens all the time, but it would just anger people. Yet that's exactly what's happening to young ladies in all over the world today. They're being convinced that this thing, and look, a woman, a young lady's purity is not a house. It's not a car. It's not something that ultimately you could replace. Once it's gone, it's gone. And they're being convinced that it's worthless. And they're being convinced to just give it away for nothing. How evil and wicked are those people? But that's the mainstream today. And people tell me that the Bible is against women. You're crazy. You've lost your mind. The Bible is the only thing standing up for young ladies, especially today. Everybody else just trying to rip them off and hurt them and lie to them. And tell them to literally give something away that is priceless. It's priceless. The virtuous woman, far above rubies. It doesn't say she's worth a bag of rubies. It says she is priceless. That's what the Bible is trying to say. Let's go back to Ezekiel chapter 16, if you would. Ezekiel chapter number 16. Actually, you can just go back to Hosea chapter number 3. The fornication goes for men and for women. But as far as these young ladies, they're being scammed. They're being scammed by Satan and feminists and all these wicked people that are teaching that they should just go out there and just party and just live their whatever right now. And look, it's going to apply to you this sermon. The title of the sermon is this. Things that cost you later. Things that cost you later. Notice in Hosea that his future wife, before she was wiped, she was a harlot. And Ezekiel chapter 16 is saying, the harlot, at least they're hired. At least they're getting paid. But then she became this adulteress. And not only was she not getting paid, but she was chasing after things that she could not catch, the Bible says. And Ezekiel chapter 16, it says that she will be paying, she will literally be paying to be an adulteress. But what I want to point out to you tonight and really drive home is that most bad things are like this. Sin, bad things in this world, things that are wrong against the Word of God, they're all like this. There's a reward at first, and then there's this huge payment later. And this story of Hosea and what we're seeing detailed out in Ezekiel of this harlot to the adulteress, this applies to every single person. It's like, it's the oldest scam in the book. It's the same scam. And I'm going to show you in just a few minutes. Actually flip over to, don't go there yet. Don't go there yet. We're going to go to Proverbs 16. But look, it's the biggest trap that's out there. I mean, just the simplest way you could think about this is just think about the junkie. Think about the junkie that you see on the street, just totally broken down, nowhere to sleep, just totally on the edge of death nearly. But do you think it started out that way? Do you think it started out like that's what he just became after one day? No. It started out with reward. It started out with some high school kid going to a party, having some fun, maybe starting to drink a little bit, drink some alcohol. Maybe then later on, maybe then drugs got thrown into it. And maybe there was still reward there at the beginning. Or it seemed as though there was fun. There was not having nowhere to live, all these things. I mean, but it costs him later. Let me ask you this. Would that high school kid have done that if he could have seen where he would be in two, three, four years and seen the end of where that would be? Pretty much everything that costs you later and rewards you up front is bad. I mean, you can apply this. I mean, the whole reason it costs you nothing now is because it's a trap. It's because it's trying, it's Satan trying to, it's the cost nothing now and the reward now is the bait that's in the trap. That's what it is. I mean, you think about, I mean, even just like deals on stuff, 0% down or whatever. I mean, it's a trap. Or even like, I don't even know if they have these anymore since interest rates were up, but like furniture stores like pay, you don't have to pay anything for 18 months. So what does that mean? Like you can just go, like just get all the furniture you want and like it's free. There's a reward there. Like you literally like, you turn to Proverbs 22. I'm sorry if I told you to go to Proverbs 16. Go to Proverbs 22. I mean, there's so many things that are like this, but pretty much if something's like this, you know it's bad because this is the trap. I mean, the fact that it rewards you now is the bait that's in that trap. I mean, you go and you pay nothing for 18 months and you just get all this furniture and you get all this nice stuff or whatever it is. And then in 18 months, it's like, bam, 30% interest or whatever it is. Look at Proverbs chapter 22. Look at verse number seven. The Bible says the rich rule with over the poor and the borrower is servant to the lender. See the trick, the trick is, is that the servitude starts right away. You just don't know it. You just don't know it. You go and you feel good and you feel rewarded, but then all of a sudden you're like, oh, servitude. Turn to Proverbs chapter 16. Look, everything's like this. Everything is like this. Just think about things. Now, you know, you're like, okay, I'm not a junkie and you know, I'm not, you know, going out and just taking out all the, you know, this, that's just two examples to show you that the, the premise of where I'm going, but look at everything in the Christian life is like this too. Look at Proverbs chapter 16 in verse number 28. Everything in the Christian life is like this too. Think about things like gossip, just going around and just talking people's back and just, you know, sowing strife as the Bible says. Look at Proverbs 16, 28. Proverbs 16, 28. The Bible says a froward man soweth strife and a whisperer separateth chief friends. In Proverbs 26, I'll just read it for you, verse number 20, the Bible says where no wood is, the fire goeth out. So where there is no tailbearer, tailbearer, the striped seeth. So the Bible says in Proverbs 16, 28, if you look down, that you sow, that you sow strife. That somebody who's doing, who's got, I mean, why do people gossip? Think about it for a second. If it's just bad, why do people do it? Because they, they like to, they like it. That's why. Because they like to hear stuff. They like to find out stuff and they like to hear stuff. I mean, it starts out as fun. It started out, it starts out as something that like, it's like a hobby to some people where they can just go and they can just talk. Oh, and you know, and then they like to, they like to get a bunch of information that they shouldn't have. And then they like to be the person that has stuff, right? They like to go out and dish out information to people. This is the gossip. It's, it's enjoyable to them. It's fun. I mean, you should think about that for a second. If you like hear a bunch of bad stuff, if you happen to accidentally hear a bunch of bad stuff about somebody and like, you get joy out of that somehow, like you should check yourself there. And you should be like, should I be hearing this or should I know this? You should check yourself because it's easy to fall into something where you just like to hear dirt, you know, especially in this day and age that we live in today. But notice how it says it soweth strife. So it doesn't happen right away. It's not like it's like strife just right away. You're planting something. You're planting something. It takes a while for that something to grow. And a whisperer separated chief friends. But the Bible says that this wouldn't happen. The fire would go out if there was no person tail bearing, meaning no person like repeating all this stuff and going around gossiping. Start slow. It's fun, all these things. But later, what's the payment later? Strife, the separation of friends. And then what's even worse, you know, later on, you know, no one trusts you. And you wreck your name. And everyone's like, don't tell that person anything or don't say anything around them. They'll just gossip and spread things around. So look, everything has reward at first that's bad. And then it just turns into a disaster. Later on, even in the garden, this is the oldest trick in the book, turn to Genesis three, turn to Genesis chapter number three. What did Satan tell Eve? He's like, Hey, yeah, do it, but you're gonna die. It's all gonna be bad. No, like he told her like, there's gonna be reward. He told her like, this is gonna be good for you. Look at verse number four. I mean, the oldest trick, I mean, you kind of figure out where this trick comes from. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die. She said, God told us not to do that, but we're gonna die. He's like, Ye shall not surely die. For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened. Ye shall be as gods knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for fruit, and it was pleasant to the eyes and the tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her and he did eat. But look at verse number seven. When he said, in verse number five, then your eyes shall be open and ye show no good and evil. Like, that was true. Like he mixed a little bit of lie in there with truth, because in verse number seven, the eyes of both of them were open, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons. So he lied about the reward later on, is what he lied about. But what he was doing is like, hey, zero down. No payment for, you know, 18 months or whatever he was telling. He's like, he was just kind of leaving out the payment that would come later is what Satan did. It's the oldest trick in the book and every single thing works that way. Lies are the same way. Turn to Proverbs chapter 22. I mean, lies are a good one. Lies are a really good application, because lies right away, like there's a reason people lie. I mean, you know, yeah, there's just like serial liars, people that just can't stop lying. But people that lie like every now and then, they lie for a reason, right? They lie because they're like, I need to get out of something. Maybe they're in a box, right? They're like, they're in trouble, or they did something wrong, and they just got to lie to get out of the box, right? They got to lie to, and look, maybe they do. Maybe they do get out of the box. You know, they come looking for who messed up something that worked, and you're like, he did it. And maybe you get away with that or whatever, right? But the point is, pretty soon, I mean, maybe you, I mean, maybe you like to get the attention of lying. Maybe there's people talking in a group of people and you aren't that interesting, so you just lie about a bunch of stuff. And you just make, you know, this is the one upper, right? He's like done everything better, faster, and you're like, wow, is that guy like the most interesting person in the world? Now, he's probably a liar, you know, but just to get attention, to feel good, whatever it is, there's a reward to lying at the beginning. But the problem is, look at Proverbs 22, 1. This is the same thing with gossip, tale-bearing. The Bible says, a good name is rather to be chosen than great riches and loving favor rather than silver or gold. That sounds pretty valuable to me, but pretty soon, people are just going to know that you're a liar. People are going to know that you're a gossip. People are going to know that you're a cheat, that you can't be trusted, all these things, even though at the beginning, those things might have rewarded you. Turn to Ecclesiastes chapter number 7. Ecclesiastes chapter number 7. So the Bible says, why don't you focus on your name here? Focus on, you know, what the Bible is saying, and I love Ecclesiastes 7 because it really completes where I'm going with this, but look at Ecclesiastes 7, 1. So if you lie, if you gossip, if you're a tale-bearer, if you're into a bunch of stuff that you shouldn't be into, you're going to get a reputation for those things. You're going to get a name for those things. And the Bible in Proverbs 21 is saying that a good name is extremely valuable, is that you should value it more than silver or gold. A good name should be priceless to you. A good name should be something you just don't toss away so you can get out of some stupid thing you did or some mistake you made or whatever. That kills me when people lie about a mistake they made. It's like, everybody makes mistakes. Why make yourself a liar? There's not a person on this planet that does everything perfect every single time. So just own it. I mean, don't ruin your name over it. You take something that is small and you just throw away something that should be priceless to you. But there's a reward there at the beginning, and that's why they do it. But look at Ecclesiastes 7, 1. A good name is better than precious ointment. See, again, it's better than something that's really valuable, but look at this. And the day of death than the day of one's birth. You say, why are those two things in the same verse? Because they're basically teaching the same thing. That's why. They're teaching exactly what I'm showing you tonight. The Bible always tells you, and the Bible is teaching us here with the harlot and the adulterous and all these different things that reward you up front that you end up paying for later. And I mean, it's a great example of the harlot and the adulterous because you're just like, that's so stupid. Why would she be doing that? It makes no sense. But the point is the Bible is trying to tell us to focus on the end state. You've heard me say before that the ending, you know, how you end things is way better. But look, this is the reason why. Because the Bible is trying to get you to focus on the ending state. And that's the next point I want to make to you tonight is that the ending state is what the Bible is trying to protect you from. The Bible is telling you, the things that you do now are going to dictate what that ending, I like to use the word steady state. The Bible is trying to get you to think about the things that you're doing today that when the system settles out, your steady state will not be something that is horrible. That's what the Bible is teaching. I mean, think about what do I mean by steady state? Like an idling car is a steady state. Like a system that is started up and is running, you know, at cruise control or whatever is, you know, the startup and all the different things and the engine cranking over. That's not the steady state. It's when the engine's running and it's got the governor on it and it's running and it's up to speed and it's doing what it's supposed to do. The Bible is teaching you to focus on that, even though that may not be where you are right now. It's saying, think about the steady state. It's literally saying in Ecclesiastes chapter 7 that the steady state, look, it's saying that a good name should be your goal steady state. That having a good reputation should be valuable to you because that's the way you want to end up. I mean, it's totally understandable when you think about somebody that, you know, has grown old and died and somebody that became angry in the past 10 years of their life and was just this horrible human being in the past. Nobody remembers what they were like before that. They're just like, yeah, that was an angry old guy and, you know, maybe good that he went when he did. You want the steady state, that state to be something good, right? So the Bible is saying, like, people focus on the initial start, though. They focus on the beginning, they focus on the boost, and then the steady state is terrible. This is what Satan is doing. Are you hearing what I'm saying? Because you're looking at the start, you're looking at the beginning, you're like, reward! Look at all this stuff I can have right now. Look at all these things I can have. I can have zero percent. I can have all the stuff, my whole house filled, I'm speaking metaphorically here, I can have the whole house filled with stuff, zero, you know, zero cost to me at all, and then the ending is terrible. The Bible is like, no, no, no, don't think about right now. That's what God is telling you. You know, I don't need to listen to the Bible in my life. I don't need to do that. Just apply this to the overall Christian life. I don't need to listen to what the Bible says about, you know, disciplining my kids. Because when I'm in the store and they just want something, it's just easier to just give it to them. I mean, it's just a small little example right there. But there's a reward there. I don't have to have this big battle. I don't have to win this, you know, win this big fight and leave the store without buying anything and be embarrassed. I can just shut it down right there. But the Bible says, no, no, no, focus on the end state. Focus on the steady state. I don't need to focus on giving my kids a Christian example in their life. Because that's hard. That's hard to do. The easier thing to do, I mean, the easier, I mean, you know what the Christian life takes? You know what the Christian life takes? The Christian life takes, it takes money, it takes time, and it takes sacrifice. You say, what do you mean by money? No, it takes sacrificing money. You can, if you just, if you're saved and you just throw off what the Bible says, you could probably make more money in your life. I shouldn't tell you that. But you probably can. Because you can, you can get married and you can have dual incomes and you can just, you know, forego or not, you know, have somebody else raise your children or whatever. But I mean, to actually do what the Bible says, it is going to cost you literal material things. It's going to cost you a ton of time, a ton of time to actually raise your own family, to lead your family, to make sure your children and your wife are spiritually growing, for a wife to spiritually, you know, teach her children. So look, it would be much easier to just not do those things. It would be much easier to just take the rewards and everything that you can get at the beginning. But go to Hosea chapter number two and go back to verse number seven, if you would. Hosea chapter number two and go back to verse, let me turn there myself, Hosea chapter two and look at verse number seven. See, the Bible is saying, the Bible is saying, if you forego these things, if, if you don't take the Christian life seriously and you just focus on the immediate rewards and you don't forego, you don't sacrifice anything, you don't, you know, you just want to get as much money, you want to get as much time to yourself as you can get, and you just don't want to give up anything that you have in your life, the Bible is saying that the steady state is going to be terrible for you. At the ending state, look, you end up with children with terrible character, is what the Bible is saying. That will be the steady state. You'll end up with unspiritual children. Look, maybe they're saved, but that doesn't mean they're going to be spiritual. That doesn't mean they're going to want to serve the Lord with their life. You know, there's more goals than just getting your children saved when they're five, six, seven, eight years old. It doesn't just stop there. The Bible is saying, if you don't make these sacrifices and instead you take that reward up front, that the ending state is going to be terrible. You say, well, how does it really apply to what you're talking about in Ezekiel chapter 16? Because at the end, there will be a time where you are begging, where you are begging, you are giving gifts and there will be a time when you will sacrifice anything to get them back. Anything. There will be a time where you are, Isaiah chapter number two and verse number seven. Look at what the Bible says. It says, she shall follow after her lovers. Just replace that with children, but she shall not overtake them. Because at that time that you decide, now's when I'll sacrifice everything. Now's when I'll pay everything. At the end, it's already too late. You can fix your relationship with the Lord at that point, but it's too late for that. And then you'll have a legacy of a Christian life that was one generation. You're like, well, pastor, I got saved and I was later in life. Half a generation. Good job. That's what happens all the time. All the time. This is why you need to take the Christian life seriously. This is why this stuff isn't a joke that's preached. This is why you need to forego those rewards up front. You need to make those uncomfortable sacrifices. You need to have those uncomfortable conversations. You need to let people get upset with you. Because it is all about foregoing those rewards so you can end up with the proper steady state at the end. That's what the Bible is teaching you. Turn back to Ecclesiastes chapter number seven. The Bible is teaching you, God is screaming out to you saying, begin with the end in mind. That's what God is saying. Begin with everything, thinking through what it will cost you. See, the junkie would have never started if he had presented that first night at that party where he would end up. Hey, you want a drink? This will be you in two years. Never do it. The cost to his body, his health, his mind, I mean, same thing with the glutton. He would just never do it. Look at Ecclesiastes chapter number seven. Look at verse number eight. Again, better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof. God's trying to tell you, focus on the steady state. Focus on what it's going to end up being. And the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. Look at this, look at this, look at this, look at this. Be not hasty. You know what he's saying? He's like, hey, you just got to be patient. You just can't get everything right now. You just can't have everything right now. Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry, for angry anger rests in the bosom of fools. Look at verse 10. Why are people hasty? People are hasty because they're not thinking long term, because they're thinking about what they want right now. Verse 10, say not thou what is the cause that the former days were better than these. For thou does not inquire wisely concerning this. He said, you're an idiot, is what he said. He's like, why? Why is it bad now? Why is it bad now when it was good before? And God is trying, is screaming out to us in the words of the Bible saying, because you didn't listen to what I said to you, because you were hasty and you took everything up front and you had no patience. I mean, the Bible's literally saying idiot. He's literally saying, you know, you just not inquire wisely. Like maybe I'm going to use that. I mean, next time someone asks me something that's really, no, I'm not, but I'm just saying like you just not inquire wisely. He's like, because I told you over and over and over again. Look at verse 11. Wisdom is good with an inheritance and by it there's profit to them that see the sun. I mean, like it's a great example. You give a lot, you give a lot to a fool. I mean, I've seen this literally happen many times in my life. Somebody inherits just a ton of money and just as a complete fool and it is just gone, just like that. There was a, there's literally a saying, there's literally a saying that I grew up hearing from just like the farming community, that it takes one generation to make it and one to lose it. And I mean, that's a neat little saying, but from my experience, it takes one generation to make it and like, I don't know, like a fourth of a generation to lose it all. I mean, you can lose it all pretty fast, but the point is somebody that's hasty, you know, they soon will have nothing, is what the Bible is saying. For wisdom is a defense and money is a defense, but the excellency of knowledge is that wisdom giveth life to them that have it. See, the Christian life is all about thinking the long term. It's all about thinking what that steady state should be, what you want that steady state to be. That's how you need to make decisions now, because if you're making decisions now on what you want to do today and what you want to do tomorrow and what you want to do the next day, your end state, your steady state is going to be something that you have no idea what's coming in this Christian life. And look, you know, not being hasty and thinking long term means that you just don't get everything you want and desire every single second. And that's where that sacrifice comes in. But all you have to do, I mean, here's a problem statement for you. Here's a problem statement for you tonight before we end. Here's a problem. Every single desire that you have up front in this society that we live in today, every stupid desire that you have, there is someone there to give it to you. Every bad way to raise kids that you want to be rewarded with, right there at that time, dozens of people have written books on why that's the good way to do it. You've got people in your ear telling you things that are wrong. And look, every unspiritual urge that you will ever have, there will be someone there to fulfill that urge or something there to fulfill that urge. And, you know, these baby Christians, they get in this situation where they have some unspiritual urge. And then, you know, that the answer to their urge is right there. And it's like, oh, it's of the Lord. You have to know the Bible, you have to know what the Bible says, and you have to understand that not everything that is set in front of you is good, because this is the game that Satan is playing. He's trying to put those rewards in front of you. You mistake them as blessings, and then you fall into this trap, and then the steady state is a disaster at the end. You've got to know the Bible. You can't just sit here and listen to the Bible being preached. You've got to read the Bible and understand what it says. You have the Holy Spirit. You have an interpreter of the Word of God. You should be reading the Bible so you can see through this garbage that people are setting in front of you on a daily basis in this world. So not only are you rewarded up front for all these things that will cause you disaster later in life, but it's like there's this massive machine run by the devil that's got all these minions in this world that's just there to give you everything so you can fall right into it. This is why you also see this idea, you know, floating around all these circles of people that think they're smart where everything is subjective. Like everything is subjective. That's your opinion. Everything is subjective. That's why you see all these stupid scientists that would come up with all this, because like literally you could say to somebody that's saying like everything is subjective, like oh really is this conversation that I'm having with you right now, unfortunately that I'm having with you right now, is this subjective? Are we having this conversation or is that not really happening to some people? I mean and most people say okay you know that's not subjective, but you know then you have all these scientists are like oh there's multiple realities, multiple universes, because what are they trying to do? They're trying to break down all objectiveness, which is what? They're trying to break down all truth. They're trying to literally knock down every truth wall. No. Some things aren't good. Period. How do I know what's good and what's not? The Bible. Some things aren't good, but they may seem that way right now is the lesson here. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer.