Anyone get their Sunday afternoon nap? Anyone wish they got their Sunday afternoon nap? Can I get a witness there? Amen to that, too. Well, there remaineth a rest for the people of the Lord, amen? We'll rest when we're in heaven, hallelujah. For those who didn't get their nap, I apologize, but I promise I will get you home at a respectable hour. I didn't say early, amen, but a respectable hour. All right, take your Bibles, the Book of Ecclesiastes, Ecclesiastes means the one who speaks to a congregation. So in your Bible, they kind of re-transliterate it for you to Ecclesiastes or the preacher. And that's a good title for this book. Because you have to understand King Solomon, at the time of writing Ecclesiastes, was not writing so much as this king declaring his wealth and parading around how powerful he was, but as a very humbled man. of a man who had seen much of his life, if you will, wasted, and pain, and sorrow, and he's almost pleading in these words for us to heed God's warnings. If you look at Ecclesiastes 1, verses 1 and 2, you kind of get his heart. Imagine a man, honestly I don't think he was much beyond 50, but have you ever looked at someone and they looked 30, 20, 30 years older than they really were because life had just treated them rough? Amen? Some of you are like, that's me, right? This was Solomon. Despite not being that young, he had experienced a lot, and it causes him in v. 1 and 2 to declare this crazy statement. The words of the preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. And he says this, vanity, vanity, all is, Vanity. What is that? He's saying it's all empty. It's all worthless. What is he talking about? He did not heed God's warnings, and this is the pain it produced. A lot of times people see a warning, and they think that they're just trying to restrict you. Right? Like, a warning. Do not attempt. And you think, I'm going to attempt. Right? But the reality is with God that we have to understand is God's warnings are the way to His blessings. They are for our good. And so I'm just going to jump into two very short tonight warnings that King Solomon gives, not from a place of a preacher getting in your face and saying, you need to do this, but from a place of a man who's experienced the pain of not heeding the warning. From a place of an older man who's saying, hey son, in fact, he says that in Ecclesiastes 12, my son, like he does in Proverbs, hey, don't go the way I did. Pain is a powerful teacher, but he's saying, don't learn how I did through pain. Learn to fear God in your youth. Right? Before the pain comes. And so we're going to look at tonight the warnings to a deceived generation. The warnings to a deceived generation. And the first one we're going to do is going to be in Ecclesiastes 8. Ecclesiastes 8 and verse 11. Ecclesiastes 8. I'm going to read the verse and then I'm going to kind of explain what I believe the heart of King Solomon was behind this statement as he penned it. And that is the deception of delayed judgment. The deception of delayed judgment. You know, thinking about King Solomon's life, if we were going to flash back in his life, Imagine for a minute, a day in his life, the sun rising on Jerusalem. At that point, he had peace on every side of his country. There was no war. And the sun rose, and his palace was gold and ivory, and he sat on a throne with golden lions, and there in his palace, All his wives lined the court. Literally, 700 wives, 300 concubines. It says, in his day, silver was so abundant, it was as the dust. It says that He multiplied horses out of Egypt and He had stalls and stalls and stalls of the thousands. Every year, the Bible talks about how His wealth would grow and grow and grow. The ships of Tyre bringing in precious things and He would go far into all of the known world and bring back the treasures of kings. Things peculiar that no one else had. Beyond that, he had riches of wisdom. He knew nature and science and had literature beyond any of the kings before him, including his father David. So it would be easy for him to think, well, with all this blessing, surely, what I'm doing is okay. And what happened is God had warned him not to multiply wives, horses, or silver, but he did not heed that warning. He multiplied these wives and they turned his heart after other gods, and he built temples for Temash, Ashtoreth, Molech, Gods that demanded horrible things, and yet God still seemed to be blessing. There was no war. Again, silver was so abundant, the business just kept improving. And you might have thought, well, maybe God's okay with the idolatry that's crept into our city and our capital here, and the worship in the groves, and the worship to these strange gods. I mean, surely God's blessing is on this place. But then years later, a prophet Ahijah, he met a young man named Jeroboam who would prove to be a devastating enemy to King Solomon and his son Rehoboam. And this prophet Ahijah, he goes up to Jeroboam and he gives him a new garment. And he strips it and rips it in twelve pieces and he says, the kingdom has been stripped from Solomon and is given to thee, Jeroboam, because he has turned after other gods. You see, all these years of blessing and riches and wealth and peace finally came to an end. Almost like the calm before the what? The storm in nature. And King Solomon now, about to die, he writes these words, knowing that the judgment did come. That he was deceived and lulled into sleep by the peace and the wealth and the abundance. And he writes here in Ecclesiastes 8 v. 11, because sentence against an evil work is not executed what? Speedily. It doesn't happen right away. Therefore, the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before Him, but it shall not be well with the wicked. Neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a what? A shadow is just an obscuring of the light to where as soon as the light moves, as soon as the light comes, it vanishes. He's saying that life of abundance and peace, yes, the judgment doesn't fall fast, but when it does, it's erased forever like a shadow. Which are as a shadow because he feareth not before God. What can we learn from this first warning? Well, there's a lot to learn in this first warning. The first thing the Bible says there in the book of Ecclesiastes 8 verse 11, it says, because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily. You know what? A lot of times happens. in our life, in your life, in men's lives, in King Solomon's life, we think a delay in judgment means no judgment. Am I right? I mean, have you ever decided, you know what, I'm going to do, I'm going to tell, I'm going to go ahead, and I know this is wrong. And you go ahead and you do that. And you think, oh man, judgment's going to fall. And your conscience at first convicts you hard. But then you sin again and the conscience is a little less offended. And then you sin again and it's a little less offended. You know what the Bible talks about that? There's a seducing spirit in 1 Timothy 4. It says that this seducing spirit will cause men to rise up in the church, speaking lies and hypocrisy, having a seared what? Conscience. You know what? A lot of times we think, well, delayed judgment means no judgment. The enemy wants to convince us. It wants to convince us, well, you know, you got away with it that time. God must be okay with it. In fact, He even told Miss Eve, I'm sorry, Miss Eve, ye shall not surely what? Now think about it. Think about it. To the devil's advocate, or to that lie, did Adam die in a physical way after eating the fruit? He didn't. And one might think, well, he died spiritually, and surely there was no doubt. But you know what this is? This is a pattern of how God operates in your life and in Adam's life. He doesn't execute judgment against sin. What, church? Speedily. But did Adam die? He surely did. And you know what that devil will do is say, hey look, you didn't die. You got away with it. There was no problem. You don't have to be scared. You don't have to be upset that you went and did that. Look, you did not die. And beyond that, sometimes the blessings continue. You know Moses in the book of Numbers chapter 20? We talked about it before. He was told very specifically not to strike the rock the second time, but to what? To speak to that rock in Numbers 20. And he in anger, he rose up with that staff, and he said, must I fetch you water, ye rebels? And he struck the rock. He disobeyed God. But Numbers chapter 20, it gives us an important fact. It says, the water came out abundantly. And the congregation were watered. Moses disobeyed God directly, but God still worked through him and blessed the congregation through him. You know what that is a warning to you and I? A lot of times we're trying to raise our families in the Lord. And God seems to thrive our children and thrive our efforts. Some of you are Sunday school teachers. Some of you are involved in maybe Master's Club. And you're involved in these ministries. Or maybe you're a witness at work. And you share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And can I tell you, to be honest, there is a time in all of our Christian life where despite sin, God still blesses anyway. Despite our sin, sometimes you might teach a lesson. You might be able to evangelize. And you know what? We can fall into the trap of thinking, well, because God's still blessing, it must be okay. I mean, the Lord, I'm sure, would cease His blessing. But what is it that we learn from here? Do not be deceived. Delayed judgment does not mean no judgment. And I've seen this in pastors' lives. You see, we talked about speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their conscience seared. I've seen and known of pastors that have preached and literally seen people get saved. I've known of pastors of churches that have grown great works. I've known pastors that have seen many people at the altar, and God was on them, and God moved through them, and then it came out that they were involved in a sin for decades. How is that possible? It's possible the same way, my friend, that it can be possible in your and my life. The blessings of God will not automatically turn off as we get involved in sin. And don't be lulled to sleep of this deception that that means God's okay with it. He's not. But what happens is this sin, the judgment is not executed speedily. It says here in verse 12, though a sinner do evil, how many times, church? A hundred times. You know what happens, though? We can get hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. You know, you sow a thought, you reap an action. You sow an action, you reap a habit. You sow a habit, you reap a character. You sow character, you reap a destiny. Right? A lot of times we think, well, I mean, look, I've done it a hundred times, and I've gotten away with it. And we get hardened, and hardened, and hardened, and we think, man, I mean, it no longer bothers us. It no longer bothers us. We no longer are fearful even to get involved in it. Why is that? Here's in Ecclesiastes, it says, better is a young child than an old king who no longer can be reproved. You can be like Solomon, hardened beyond a place of repentance. You say, I understand you have a free will, but this sin... Look at verse... Look at verse 11 again. It says, therefore, the heart of the Son of Man is fully set. You know what set means, right? You set your house upon the foundation. That's the place where it rests. It's default. And sin over time will try to completely capture your mind, heart, and affections. Right? And when you do something a hundred times, and there's no consequence, and there's no consequence, you can easily be deceived that there's no one, no one knows. No one is there. But look at verse 12. Yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before Him. So what he's saying is, this is before God. God is intimately involved in our lives. David said in the book of Psalms, He knoweth my uprising and my down sitting. He knoweth my thoughts afar off. You know what sin wants to do? Sin wants to lie to us. That is not that big of a deal. Look, it's been a hundred times. Here's this man, right? And he's buried a body and buried a body and buried a body. And it's become habitual. And he doesn't realize it's because sentence against sin is not executed speedily, it's fully set in the heart of the sons of men to do evil. That there is a sentence coming. There is a judgment. There is a payday. And the deception is, it's okay. I knew young Bible college students, man, they would lead people to Christ, get them to come to church, and then they'd be involved in all kinds of fleshly, worldly sins. And you know what they would say? Well, it's okay, I'm leading people to church. You know what that is? We can justify our fleshly and carnal appetites by saying, look at what I do for the Lord spiritually. And to be honest with you, all of us can be deceived by this. All of us have this tendency where we self-inflate what we do for the Lord, and we make what we sin and do for our flesh not that big of a deal. Why? Because our hearts are desperately what? Wicked. Deceitful. Man, my heart lies to me. Your carnality is okay. I mean, look at you. You pray. You weep. You preach. I mean, what's a little sin? I've even heard a Christian say this, every Christian needs a little sin in their life. I'm telling you, the Bible does not say that. It says, be ye holy. It doesn't say, like the Ashton Yergin version, be ye not so bad, for I am not so bad. Amen? No, it says, be ye holy, for I am holy. And we get this idea, well, you know, I've gotten away with it. It must be OK. It's not hurting anybody. And what we don't realize is the sentence is already being written. It just has not been handed down yet. And there's things that you and I are involved in. And we need to have a fear and a healthy fear of God to where we realize, hey, I've gotten away with it. And I've gotten away with it. And yes, God's blessing my family. And yes, God's blessing my ministry. And yes, God's blessing me in these areas. But that doesn't mean the judgment won't fall. And I need to stop this now before the judgment comes. Otherwise, you'll be sitting with Solomon thinking, how did I wish I would have heeded the warning because just because things don't get judged right away doesn't mean they won't be judged ever. Wouldn't you rather have judgment fall on you than your children? Am I right, parents? Solomon had to watch this judgment fall on his children. God was merciful to his father David, so He allowed Solomon to miss a lot of the judgment, and he saw it in the children. reminds me of one king. He was told his kingdom would be judged. And he says, well, as long as it's good for me in my day. You have to understand, the sins that we're sowing might not be judged until our children and children's children. Don't be deceived by the lie that we're getting away with it. We're not. And the blessing is here that he says in verse The end of verse 12 is that, "...yet surely I know it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before Him." You know, a lot of times, not only do we think we're getting away with the bad, but my young daughter, she came to me earlier this week and she's crying because she said, I vacuumed the house and I cleaned the house and no one said, thank you, Dad. And I'm like, you know, in my mind, I'm like, you know what? I'm laughing, but I am like that sometimes. Lord, I've been so faithful for you and I'm the only one. Like Elijah in the cave, you ever been there? Lord, no one sees what I do for you. Hey, the Bible says, hey, every righteous thing you do, it's before the Lord. Your labor is not in vain, 1 Corinthians 15, verse 58, in the Lord. God is not unfaithful who will forget your labor of love. which you have both ministered and do minister." Hey, just like the wicked is having the sentence written and the judgment's about to fall, hey, the righteous things you do are seen of God, and one day they will be rewarded, Solomon says. Don't think because no one's giving you accolades. No one's saying, man, good job. No one's been able to say, man, that was encouraging. And you're like, man, why do I pray? Man, why do I teach? Man, why do I help in the nursery? Man, why do I do this? Hey, don't forget, you will be rewarded for righteousness, though for years you get forgotten here on earth. Sentence against sin is not expedient judgment, but also rewards sometimes take a long time. But that doesn't mean the reward is not coming, church. Stay faithful for the Lord. So we see that first warning. The warning that delayed judgment does not mean the absence of judgment. And then, I want to show you another warning here. You know, before I jump into that, you know there's a fly in Sub-Saharan Africa called the tse-tse fly, and all the livestock and people really don't pay it any attention because it's like any other fly. But the tse-tse fly has a parasite in it. And when it bites the cow or whatever its host is, it transfers the parasite into their bloodstream. But nothing happens right away. In fact, it takes two to three months after an initial bite for the parasites to cause any problems. But when they do, it leads to what is called the sleeping sickness in Africa. And the host will just be completely fatigued and without treatment die. And here they were getting bit and bit and bit for months. with no obvious fatality, with no symptoms, but it's under the surface. And if you think about a carnal desire you and I have, because wouldn't you agree the devil knows our weaknesses? Amen? David was proud, so God said, hey David, just number Israel. See how great the kingdom is. And it destroyed many. You know, Peter was a little bit fearful, stepping out on the boat. And so in that fear, Satan convinced him to deny. I don't know the man. I'm not one of his apostles." And the Bible says he went out and wept bitterly because that fear he rejected and denied his Messiah. I'm telling you, Satan knows our weaknesses, alright? Don't allow him to exploit them. But hey, this sin, it's either sin or me. One of us has to die, and it's not going to be me. Amen. You know what I love about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? They said it's better to get in the fiery furnace than to bow to that idol. It's better to die than to get involved in that sin. You know what the book of Hebrews says? It says that when we are fighting and striving against sin, it says, ye have not strived unto death. You know how Jesus got that victory? He strove to death. Literally. And many of the times, if you'll just say, it's better to die than to sin, it will give you that victory. It's better to be thrown in the furnace than be bound down to an idol. I honestly believe and think it is better to suffer pain with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a what? Because it's just the season. And then the judgment falls. So just, we have to understand. Be not ignorant of His devices, Paul says. This is a device of Satan. But Christ is giving you the remedy. Hey, strive to death. Hey, no, the sentence is coming. I'm cutting it off now. I'm not going to wait. I'm not going to go over it a hundred times, have it dead in my conscience. I'm going to be... You know how I can tell I start to have a heart and conscience? I'm no longer responsive to preaching. I'm no longer responsive to the Word of God. You ever been there? It's like, oh, I heard that before. Oh, this sermon is not for me. You know, brother so-and-so, sister so-and-so. Amen. She needs that message. And I understand, sometimes it's good to send people messages, but not until you first allow it to search me, O Lord. It kind of reminds me of the little kid who was praying, and he was saying, you know, you heard that song, it's not my brother, it's not my sister, but me, O Lord, standing in the need of prayer. Right? Sometimes we flip that and it's like a little boy singing, not me, not me, but them, O Lord, standing in the need of prayer. Right? What is that? We have a tendency to stop listening to the Word of God and allowing it to convict us. listening to the preaching of God's Word and saying, oh, that's not for me. And just be careful of that, because you can fall into this like, well, what I'm doing is okay. I mean, look at God's blessing. Look at God's peace. I mean, surely, surely, if God had a problem with this, He would send judgment, and He hasn't, because Solomon was deceived that way. And He said no, because sentence against Sin is not speedily executed. It is fully set in the heart of man to do evil. He said, don't be like me. Don't multiply 300 concubines, 700 wives, altars to Moldeck, altars to Ashtoreth, before you realize it's too late. Hey, no. Cut it off now. Cut it off now. And then the other warning I want to show you guys is going to be in Ecclesiastes 6. And to be honest, this was, you say, why did I choose these? I chose ones that I needed. So if you're wondering, why is he preaching on this? Maybe the Holy Spirit just needs it for your pastor. But look at Ecclesiastes 6 and verse 9. I call this the deception of just beyond the horizon. Look at Ecclesiastes 6.9, then I'll kind of explain where I think Solomon in his life from what we know in the Bible was coming from. He says in Ecclesiastes 6.9, better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire. Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire. This is also vanity and vexation of spirit. You know, back to Solomon's life, he had the throne literally given to him by Almighty God. He had the people of God, Israel, to be their king. He had the temple of God, where he could meet with God. In fact, he did meet with God not once, but twice. In fact, he not only met with God, but he saw God visibly come down in the form of a fire when he dedicated the temple. Would you agree that would be a really good experience? You would not forget something like that. He had all of this. And yet, what does he do, and what does he explain that he did in Ecclesiastes? He chased after worldly wisdom, if you read the book. And he looks for all these knowledge in far-flung places, only to discover it's empty. He says, well, maybe I'll just build great accomplishments. So he builds houses, and he builds gardens, and he builds rivers, and all this amazing engineering. And then he realizes he builds all this for someone that will come after him, and then it'll go away. Then he chases after women, and we've talked about that, and they turn his very heart away from God. He goes into all the wanderings of desires. In fact, in one place he says, whatever I saw, I did not restrain myself. He went after wine and partying and all these things to discover fulfillment, and he claimed in chapter 1 like we read, vanity, vanity. All is vanity. What is he saying here? Realize what God has right in front of you today, though it might be small, is sacred. He said, better is the sight of the eyes, what's right in front of you. He had the temple. He had the people of God. He had the presence of God. But he left that to chase a dream. in the wandering of the desires. Yea, this is a vanity and much vexation in spirit." I want to talk to that tonight, and then we'll be closed. Because you know what I honestly believe a lot of people think? They believe that the will of God is in the far distant future. They believe how God will use them is, you know, sometime other than right now. You know, there's men that desire to start a business, right? I think that's a good desire if God's put that on your heart. I think you can bring glory to the Lord in that way. But you know what? They have a desire to start a business, but they don't want to be a good employee. Don't you think that's a good start, amen? There's people, and they have a desire to maybe Maybe be a missionary one day. Or perhaps, you know, go on a missions trip and see people get saved, but yet they've never told their neighbors the Gospel. You know what the enemy tries to do? He tries to convince us that the will of God and where His fulfillment is, and where the pleasure is, is somewhere out there. Where Solomon says, no, it's right in front of us. You know, the apostles, were on the road, and they came to a city of Samaria, and John chapter 4, Jesus, He met with that Samaritan woman, and He says, you know, you guys, He's talking to His disciples after He met her, and told her about how He was the Messiah. He says, you know, you say you have four months, and then cometh harvest. But you guys know the passage, right? In John chapter 4. He says, Behold, I tell you that the fields are what, church? White and all ready to harvest. You realize that there's people in your path right now. People that you could give the gospel to right now, just like there are in foreign fields. I had a missionary veteran tell me, you know, a lot of men come over here, and they want to do this great work, and they want to win these people to the Lord. And he says, what I'll do is I'll ask them. I'll ask them, hey, who have you led to the Lord back in the United States? Who have you discipled back there? And he said many of them have never done that. And he says then they get into this dark place where they don't know the culture, they don't know the language, and he says he always watches their marriages get hurt, their children get hurt, and he says they'll usually last about seven to ten years, and then they come broken back. What is that? Their eyes, the will of God was out here, and they never considered church that the will of God was right in front of them. Lift up your eyes. The harvest is white and ready. You know, a lot of times it's easy to think, well, one day, you know, one day, you know, as a young man, what I was convinced of, and it was foolish thinking, but I was thinking, one day when I'm older and more mature, then I'll serve the Lord in a great way. And then I got a little older and a little more mature. And you know what I discovered? Nothing changed. Amen? And you know, you get into life and you start having kids and you're raising kids and you're busy with work and volunteering for church. And you know what? The enemy convinces us, well, one day when I'm not as busy, then I'll serve God right but the problem is I talk to people that are way beyond me in years and you know what the enemies convince them now that they're older one day when I'm dead and in heaven then I'll serve God it's like that we can't win amen why it's this mentality that it's some way There beyond the rifts of mortal man. I'll serve God someday. And God says, no. Today is the will of God. Where you're at, ladies raising your family, where you're at seeing your grandchildren. You know, I'll never forget, a pastor told me about children. He said, you know, God had moved in His ministry, grew His church, and I'm a product of His church. And I'll never forget, he told us in a small setting, he said, the one thing I regret is not spending more time with my kids. You know how many grandparents I run into tell me the same thing? What is that? They were waiting, you know, one day I'll have more time. One day I won't have to do these diapers. One day it won't be so busy. One day the career will be up. One day the business will be settled. One day I'll be retired. And they didn't realize the will of God was right in front of them. Why? Because the enemy convinces of this foolish mentality that it can't be right now. It can't be right now. And God says, no, no, no, no. The will of God is today. It's where you're at. You know, if you were to look over a horizon, and you were to see the sun and the mountains, you might miss the opportunities and warnings right in front of you. The Bible says, a fool's eyes are in the ends of the earth. The ends of the earth. You know what I see a lot of people do? They despise the small things God has given them today for a dream of something larger tomorrow. You know, they say, well, you know, I just do this ministry. And it's a small ministry. Right? Maybe you're involved in a ministry and you think, well, you know, I like to be doing something, you know, more than two kids for in sixth and seventh grade. Amen. And I've been there. I think we've all been there at some point. But you know what God says? Better is little with what, church? Righteousness. And you might be doing something small, but remember this, God saw David defending the sheep from a lion and a bear. And he said, oh, you're gonna be the shepherd of my sheep, the nation of Israel. You don't go after a lion and grab it by the beard if you think these are just dirty little sheep. No, what is that? That's from a love of the sheep, am I right? And what I'm saying is there is no small ministry with God. There is no small ministry. A lot of times people think, well, one day, one day, and God's saying, no, two day. Two day. One day I'll get an opportunity to witness to that family member or friend, hey, do it today church. Don't delay. Solomon said, I had all those years. And I thought, well, one day. And he said, no, it's better. The wise man has the eyes in his head. The wise man sees what's right in front of him. There's someone that you need to give the Gospel to. There's a precious opportunity that you have to where if all you're doing is looking beyond for the next thing, the next step, the next goal, the vision, ten-year vision, you'll miss what's right in front of you. And you'll miss those opportunities for the will of God right now. Right now. Let me have Bez Jr. come play. I'm just going to read that verse one more time. Back in Ecclesiastes chapter 6 and verse 9, it says, Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire. This is also vanity and vexation of spirit. Don't let your desires cause you to wander. What does God have right in front of you today? Right in front of you this week? Maybe you've been neglecting an opportunity. Maybe you've been neglecting, like we saw earlier, a small sin that hasn't been causing you problems. And God would say, hey, get that right today. Or, hey, don't neglect for some far-flung vision what I've given you to do today. Maybe it's even just been an attitude in your heart that, well, this is just lesser. And someday I'll do the real victory. Someday I'll have the real pleasure of God saying, look, today is the day. Amen? You can have victory today. You know, some people say, you know, when I die and I'm in heaven, then I'll get victory over this. And I understand what they mean. We will experience the victory in heaven, on the mountaintop, but the victory is won in the valley. Jesus Christ won the victory in the Garden of Gethsemane when He said, not my will be done, but Thine be done. He endured the cross, despising the shame, and then the resurrection occurred. What am I getting at? I'm getting at, you need to get the victory tonight. You need to endure hardness today. Strive with sin to death tonight. Don't think, well, you know, next week or next month. No. The Bible says tomorrow is not promised. For what is your life? It is even a vapor. And that does not just mean death. It also means life can go by so fast. And I'm telling you, Christian, I've had this in my own heart. Don't stop serving God today because of what you're dreaming for tomorrow. I'm telling you, the will of God is today. Hey, step out and obey the Lord today and don't think, well, when this happens or this happens, then I'll serve God, then I'll get involved in ministry, then I'll decide to witness. No. Do it now. Because tomorrow is not promised. Let's stand for prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, thank you God for these warnings from Solomon. Lord, we pray, Father, that we would heed these warnings and that we would not come to a place where, in pain, we'd cry out, vanity, vanity, emptiness. Help us to be wise and hear the words from your servant Solomon, who, after years of ignoring these warnings, spoke from experience about the importance of not thinking delayed judgment meant no judgment. Help us to have a fear of God, Lord, when we're tempted, and to understand there is a sentence being written. And Father, help us not to get so focused on the future or so focused even on the past that we forget what's right in front of us. And Lord, I know it's hard sometimes, especially for the aged Christians here. Sometimes we look back at the past and we say, well, that's when God moved. And that's when God was really moving And Lord, we do not so wisely because Solomon himself said that when we consider the past and why are not the days present as the days of old, he says, you do foolishly. And God, maybe we've been living in the past a little too much or living in the future. Father, help us to serve you today. and do what we can to obey and get victory today, and not get lost in the past or the future. And Lord, I thank you for this church. Thank you for their faithfulness. And we thank you, God, for your faithfulness. Please be with these thoughts in our heart, in your word, and show us, Lord, where we've become hardened, or where we're no longer sensitive to sin. Lord, so that we can grow closer to you. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.