I want to introduce the sermon this morning with the story, I don't know whether I've ever told it or not, but it's about an eagle that was observed swooping down over a large lake and catching a very large fish in its claws. It was during the wintertime and the outer edges of the lake were still frozen. And so the eagle was out in the middle of the lake area when he grabbed the fish. And of course, the fish being very large was quite heavy for the eagle to carry, and he did his best struggling upward to carry the fish heading for, of course, shore. The person that was observing the eagle began to realize that something was wrong because the eagle was losing altitude, going back down towards the water. And he just assumed that the fish was too heavy and the eagle was too reluctant just to let the fish go. But of course, the closer he got to the water, he would let the fish go. But as he watched, he noticed that the eagle continued to fall and finally fell in the water or in the lake and drowned. And he couldn't figure out why did the eagle do that. And then he discovered that while the eagle was flying, his claws became frozen into the fish. And he could not let the fish go, even though he tried. And that, of course, brought about his own death. Now, that story illustrates that portion of Proverbs 9 that I'm going to be using. Verses 17 and 18, the last two verses of the chapter. Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant. But he knoweth not that the dead are there, and that her guests are in the depths of hell." I don't know whether you really know what that means, but I hope before the evening is over or the morning is over, that you will know what this means. Now, what we have here in this text is that man regards as pleasure the things that God forbids. That is the hardest lesson that people have to learn, and I doubt if very many people ever learn it, because we don't want to learn that lesson. Some folks don't want to learn the multiplication table. Some people just don't want to learn certain things and they never do. And so this is one of those great truths taught throughout the Bible that most people don't want to learn. They don't like what it says. And yet it's true. Man regards as pleasure what God forbids. even though man knows it will result in great cost to himself. He still regards it as pleasure. Now, God correctly labels what is evil, and he puts in the Bible, let us say for imagination's sake, all the things that are seen on the outside of the Bible, God labels it poison. Harmful to health. Now he's kind enough to let us know what is harmful to man. And he labels this. Poison, harmful to health. Now man doesn't like that label. And so he changes it. He takes off the word poison and puts on the word spite. The spice of life. Sweet to your taste. And that's how man has labeled what God forbids. It's the spice of life. It's the best thing going. And it sure is sweet to my taste. And when the Bible pictures sin, it always pictures it as a sugar-coated pill. The first thing you taste about sin, and the Bible admits this, is pleasure and sweetness. My, how good it is. It really tastes good. It's like getting a chocolate-covered lemon. As you begin to eat the chocolate, my, how sweet and tasteful it is. But someday, sometime, you're going to reach the lemon. And when you do, everything's going to turn sour and bitter on you. In the mouth, it is sweet. When it gets in the stomach, there will be a period when it becomes bitter and sour. Now, God always paints that picture of sin in the Bible. At first, sin always brings delight, it always brings pleasure, and it always brings sweetness. And the Bible does not deny this. Anyone who says there is no pleasure to sin is not agreeing with the Bible. There is pleasure in doing wrong. There is no doubt about it. But it also says the day will come when the sugar-coating cover of sweetness will be gone. And you'll be down to the bad side effects of what once was very sweet and thrilling and fun. I'll repeat myself again. Sin is sweet to the taste, but it's bitter when it finally gets in the stomach. Now that's what is meant here when it says forbidden waters are sweet. He says the word stolen, it's wrong to steal you see. But stolen water tastes so much better than free water. For some unknown reason. All he's saying is here that water that is forbidden to you, forbidden for your touch, is sweet water. At first it is. And bread that is forbidden to you to have, whatever that bread might be, which is symbolic here of sin, that upon which you'll feed your life, forbidden bread is pleasant. But there's another verse after that, and that's verse 18. The guy that considered stolen waters or forbidden waters and forbidden bread to be sweet and pleasant somehow forgets to look at all the folks who ate the sweet bread and the stolen water. We forget the end result of the picture. And God says, I agree with you, sin is sweet, but those that indulge in it reach a bitter end. Now, don't you forget that. The sweetness of sin carries with it a tremendously high penalty. And let's just be very realistic this morning. Sin was not enjoyable. then nobody would sin. That's obvious, isn't it? If stolen waters were not sweet, then nobody would steal water. That's obvious. And I believe Satan would probably fish in vain this morning if he could not bait the hook with pleasure. Nobody would get involved in it. Satan wouldn't have a customer. if there was no pleasure involved. So we find that the power of sin is its pleasure. Its appeal is its pleasure. I mean, sin is enticing and alluring. It is. Let's face it. Now Jesus came along and said, blessed are happy is the man that hungers and thirsts after righteousness. Now most people say, why, I don't know how you could say that. There's no pleasure in holy living. There's no pleasure in obedience. There's no pleasure in being and doing what God asks. I mean, pleasure is in sin, not in obedience. Now what did Jesus mean when he said, happy is the man that hungers and thirsts after righteousness? How could Christ reach that conclusion? Even Christians may ask this question. Because experience all through our life teaches us, no, sin is what's pleasure and God's duty is displeasure. And some say, well, God's wisdom and God's holy life calls nothing but, or spells nothing but boredom and misery. That's why so many people don't go to church, don't pray, don't read the Bible, don't testify, don't live for God, and don't deny themselves. It's miserable. And I'll agree with you, brethren, it is. Now you please follow me here. Now the wisdom of sin says simply, you obey my duty and it spells for you pleasure and satisfaction. Now, how could Jesus say that obedience or righteousness brings joy? What our experience tells us, no, it doesn't either. Because Jesus was looking at a different part of man than sin looks at. When Jesus said, blessed is he that hungers and thirsts after righteousness, the he is man's born again spirit. that part that's made in God's image. And that is where the Christian is to find his source of joy and happiness and delight in the law of God, in his spirit. I might go on and say that sin says, well, forget about your spirit. And you cater to your body and your old carnal flesh. Now the law of God and the duty of God and the will of God And the holiness of God antagonizes, upsets, frustrates, confounds, irritates the body. But sin entices, pleases, and caters to the whims of the body. Now we're down to the basic problem of what are you going to satisfy? Are you going to satisfy your spirit or are you going to satisfy your body? Sin says, I can't satisfy the Spirit. That's why a sinner can be miserable in his pleasure. And that's the only hope we have of saving lost people because their spirit cannot find pleasure in sin. They can only find guilt and misery and loneliness and confusion in their spirit. And that's why a Christian can't find pleasure a long time in sin. But now either our spirit or our body will be catered to by us. The man that wants to care to his spirit will find joy and pleasure and delight in the things of God. And the man that wants to care to his body will find the pleasure of sin the most appealing thing to his life. And so Jesus said he found his joy in his spirit. And sin says you find your joy in satisfying the cravings of the body, whatever they might be. Now, it was the fall of man that made him come to believe that sin is wonderful and delightful and pleasurable. Genesis 3, 6, real quickly, I'll read this with you if you have your Bible. Genesis 3, 6, when the woman saw that the forbidden tree was good for food, And that it was, now notice, pleasant. That it was pleasant. That which is forbidden is pleasant. It's been that way ever since. That which was forbidden is pleasant to the eyes and to be desired. Therefore, because of those two opinions, she partook of the food and she fell. And that has been the philosophy of fallen mankind ever since. Sin is pleasant to the eye, and it is a thing to be desired, and that's why it's so popular. So everybody is infected in their physical makeup. Everybody is infected with Eve's eyesight, mind, and interest. Everybody is just like Eve. So from the very start of the fall, you see, the power of sin has always been its pleasure. that it offers to the human body. That's why Jesus said, if a man is going to follow me, he has to do what? Deny himself. That's his body. Take up his cross and follow me. What's going to be put on the cross? What do you think is going to be put on the cross? The body. If you're not willing to put your body on the cross, Jesus said, you'll not be a follower of mine. And we'll either cater to the spirit or to the body, and if you cater to the body, you'll never live like a Christian, never even look like one, act like one, talk like one, think like one, be like one. You'll never know the joy of a spirit that's born again. Now the wisdom of Eve has polluted the earth. Is it any wonder today that sin is popular? Ninety, ninety, ninety percent of the people are caring of what? The body. Is it any real understandable that the holiness is unpopular? Is it any wonder that so many are on the broad road? It's the body road. I mean, all the emphasis is on the body. What the eyes want, what the mind wants, what the body wants. It's all, everything is geared to the physical side of man's nature. Is it any wonder why so few people are going the narrow road that measures on man's spirit? You see, it's man's hang-up with the pleasures of sin that makes duty to God so distasteful. Even it makes the salvation of God distasteful. We want God's salvation, but we don't want God's character. No, why? Because God's character will ruin my body life. I'll guarantee you it will. Oh, I want God's salvation, but I don't want God. You know, that's like man. I want God to give me what I need, but I don't want God's lifestyle imposed on me. Why? Because it'll affect your body life. We don't relish the life of God. Why? Because it's contrary to the life that our body wants to live. The life of God is unappealing. And so what does the body do? It avoids it. That's why we avoid church prayer and Bible study. Very simply why we avoid it. It's like a bitter pill to the body. Because there's no pleasure in obedience to God to the body. There is none. And that's a lesson that Christians don't want to hear, but it's the honest truth. That's why the Christian must crucify the body. Paul said you must mortify the deeds of the body. Otherwise you will never live for God. Never will. You won't even want to. I might also say this, that many feel that a happy body produces more happiness than a happy spirit. And that's not true. That's just not true. We're sold on that idea that I'd rather have a happy body than a happy spirit. I'd rather offend God than offend my body. Now in Proverbs 9, we have a comparison of the two viewpoints, of two wisdoms. And real quickly we must go through these. Chapter 9, verse 1. Wisdom hath built her house. Wisdom is referred to here as a woman. Wisdom hath built her house, and she hath hewn down her seven pillows. Verse 6. Forsake the foolish, and live, and go in the way of understanding. So here we have on one side the wisdom of God. Follow that. with a guaranteed ending that will bring life and happiness and pleasure to your spirit. Then chapter 9, verse 13, we have the other woman, wisdom. There is a foolish wisdom or a foolish woman and she is simple. I'll talk about that in a minute, she is simple. She doesn't know anything, no. That's the world. Doesn't really know the truth. And she sits at the door of her house and on a seat in the high places of the city. That is, she is ready and willing to pass out her information where she doesn't know anything, but she's ready to give her information. And she calls passengers who go by on their way. She wants to tell them what she thinks is important for them. Then verse 16, whoso is simple, Now, she says, she is simple. Whoso is simple, let him turn in, she says, and listen to what I've got to say. The man that wants understanding, I have exactly what you need to hear. What does she tell him? Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant. Now, the world says, keep it simple, stupid. Keep it simple. Don't complicate life. Don't muddy the waters. Don't make living painful, difficult. Don't make it hard. Just keep it simple, stupid. And she says, all right, I'll make it very simple for you, boy. I mean, this is right down to kindergarten level. This is what she teaches the kindergartner. This is what she teaches the one-year-old darling. This is where she teaches a 100-year-old daughter. Now, here it is. I won't say you're stupid, but here it is now, real simple for you folks. Everybody passing by won't tell you now, here's how you govern your life. Some people there are looking for themselves. She has a solution for them. They're looking for a golden life. She says, Oh, I can give you, I can make it real simple. You don't have to go to college or go to counselors or psychiatry. I can make it simple for you, fella. Now here is her philosophy. Very simple. When given the freedom to do as you please. I'll do it again now. When given the freedom to do as you please, please only to do what pleases you. There it is. when given the freedom to do as you please, please only to do what pleases you." And our little one-year-old children had followed that. Boy, I think that's great. You only do what pleases you and brings pleasure to your life, and they don't do much of that, whatever they want to do. And she says, now let me give you another little secret, though, what's going to please you the most. I'll help you now. is stolen waters and forbidden bread. That's it. You get all of that you can and you'll have all the pleasure you want. Hey, uptight person, sin's fun. Try it. Hey, downcast person, wrong will tickle your fancy. Try it. Hey, lonely one, Evils can put the zest in your life that you're missing. Try it. It's simple, folks. For any problem, we've got a simple solution. What is it? Sin. The pleasure of sin is the solution to every problem on the face of the earth. Hey, confused one, wickedness can give you some kicks out of life. You don't have to be confused. Hey, rejected one, bad is good. Try it. How more simple could you get? You got a problem? Sin, the pleasure, is the solution. That's as simple as you want it. And the world says, man, give me the gust stove. They bought it line, hook, and sinker. Not only that, but sin comes along and says, now listen, there can't be any pleasure in lying. There can't be any fun to breathing. And there can't be any zest to living. unless you indulge in what is forbidden to you. That's the only way. And that's why when you tell somebody you can't do this, they'll turn right around and do it. That's where the pleasure comes from. Doing what you're told you can't do. Doing what is forbidden is so much fun than driving 65 miles an hour down the freeway at 55. It's just more fun. You see, it takes the forbidden waters And it takes the forbidden food, bread, to sweeten up living. And if you're going to think in terms of the human body, I won't agree. The world is right. Absolutely 100% right. If all you're going to do is be concerned about your bodily wants, the wisdom of the world has the right information. The only thing that'll ever make you happy is the pleasure of sin. That's it. You might as well sell out to it, if that's all you're interested in. It's just your human body. Because from the standpoint of sin, it does offer the most pleasure that you'll ever get out of this life. The way of God, the word of God, the will of God will make you deny your bodily wants. There is no doubt about that. There is pleasure in the spirit. There is greater pleasure there than there is in the body. But most are afraid to even try it. Now, I want to close real quickly with this. Now, don't forget the verse. It says, sin is pleasurable. It tastes good and it's sweet, but it's not solid chocolate. You're going to reach the lemon that the Bible warns you. Now, that's what The teacher, the woman teacher on the streets not going to tell the folks. She tells the first part of the story. Here's a simple solution to all your problems. She doesn't say that there's going to be an additional problem. That's the lemon problem. That's the bitter problem. That's the bitter sweetness. You're going to finally get through the sure coating of your pill and you're going to reach that spot. that you're going to forever be sorry of. Now, she doesn't deny this. Sin never knows where it denies it. There is a bad side to sin. It never denies it. It just doesn't tell you about it. It doesn't tell you about the bonus you're going to get. It's unwanted, but it's a bonus. And I have to say, sin is sweet to the taste, but it's going to finally turn to bittersweet in your stomach. I'll guarantee it to you. I'll guarantee you. It'll happen. And I want to give one illustration now quickly, because it's a very sobering illustration. It happened to a man that should have known better, but he didn't. 2 Samuel, the 13th chapter. We'd all be happier if this was not in the Bible. I wish it had never been written. 2 Samuel, the 13th chapter. I'm going to have to read fast, and so read with me. Chapter 13. I mean, chapter 11, verse 2 and 4. And I notice, And it came to pass in the evening that David, king David, God's anointed man, arose from his bed and walked upon the roof of his house. And from the roof he saw a woman taking a bath. The woman was very beautiful. Look out, David. Be careful, boy, there's more to life than the body. Be careful now. And David sent an inquirer to this woman as to who she was, and he found out. Her name was Bathsheba, but he also found out she was a married woman. Well, David was going to follow the philosophy of the worldly wisdom. Pleasure is satisfying your bodily whims. And you know what the story is. He eventually wound up getting the husband killed and he took her to be his wife. That's tragic. Now go to the 11th chapter. I mean the 13th chapter. Verse 1 through 6. I mean, verses 1. I'm going to get these written down here. Chapter 13, verse 1. Anyway, God told David that the baby that was born to Bathsheba would die. Now, that was the bittersweet side of the story. He got his pleasure, but the baby would die, and it did. Let's go on, because that's not the end of the bittersweet of that story. Chapter 13, verse 1, it came to pass after this that Absalom, the son of David, had a sister whose name was Tamar, and a half-brother of David named Ammon fell in love with Absalom's sister. Verse 6, and Ammon, fake sickness, made out like he was sick, and he asked David to send sister Tamar to come fix him a meal. I'm cutting it real short for you. No, she did. Verse 14, though, we find here that Amon committed immorality adultly with his sister. That kind of brings home the old sin to David, doesn't it? Ah, that's bittersweet, isn't it? None of this stuff would have ever happened had David done what was right in the eyes of God. All that you have to do is satisfy your body. Give it what it wants. Let me tell you, folks, it's bittersweet. He's lost a baby now, now his daughter's reputation's ruined, and he's got a son that's an adulterer, just like Papa. All right? Verse 22. That's not the end of the story. Oh, Absalom found out about this sordid ordeal, and Absalom spoke unto his brother Ammon, neither good nor bad. For Absalom what? Hated Ammon, because he had forced his sister Tamar. Ah, the bittersweet spilled in them. It was more bittersweet than any sugar. The 15th chapter, how am I going to say that Absalom figured out a way of treachery to get brother killed? That's the end of him. Taman bit the dust through an arrangement, kind of like old David arranged to have Bathsheba's husband killed. So that's the end of him. One more son gone. Ah, then we find in chapter 15, Verse 14, Absalom decides he wants to be king. He wants to dethrone David. 15, 14. And so David sent all his servants that were with him, arise and let us run. Why? Because Absalom was going to kill his own daddy to get the throne. Ah, the bittersweet. Boy, it was sweet when he first saw that woman on that rooftop. Ooh, the sourness now. And so David here is running for his life because Absalom wanted to bring evil upon him. Well, let's go to chapter 17. And so God said to Absalom, let us now choose 12,000 men and we will pursue your daddy David. I will come unto him while he is weary and weak and will make him afraid and all the people that are with him shall flee and I shall what? I'll kill your father. I'll bring back all the people to you and they'll recognize you as their king. This is what he wanted. And the saying pleased Absalom. All right, quickly now. Chapter 18, verse 1. David still had a few friends. And so David numbered the people that were with him and set captains of thousands and captains of hundreds over them. And so David decided to do battle with his son's army. Verse 6 through 9. The people went out into the field against Israel. That is, Israel was now solidly behind Absalom. So the people went out into the field against Absalom, Israel. And the battle was in the wood of Ephraim when the people of Israel were slain before the servants of David. David's winning the battle now. There was a great slaughter that day. All of this mess happened because of the sweetness of sin. Now, son Absalom met the servants of David, and Absalom rode upon a mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great oak tree, and Absalom had long hair. And his hair was caught in the tree, and he was just sort of left hanging there, and the mule rode out from under him. So there hangs Absalom in the tree. Verse 14. Then Joab came along and said, I may not tarry thus with thee. And he took three darts in his hand. And what did he do? He killed son Absalom. Man, what a sordid story. Oh, sin is sweet. You know, for a while it is. Then verse 33, a very familiar text. And the king was moved when he heard about his son, Absalom, was dead. And he made this saying, Oh, my son, Absalom, my son, my son, Absalom, would God I had died instead of you. Oh, Absalom, my son, my son. I don't deny, folks, that sin is sweet. Forbidden fruit offers pleasure, but the chocolate will come off. And when you reach the lemon, it won't be worth it. And that's what the last verse of chapter 9 of Proverbs says. You look at those folks that have enjoyed the pleasures in all their life, and what do you have? You come to the end of the pile of the rainbow, look in the pot, and there you'll see men in misery and in hell. Was it worth it? I'll let you answer that last question. Is there enough sugar on the pill to make it worth it when you finally reach the bittersweet? You answer the question.