Mark 6:21-28 “And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee; And when the daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee. And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom. And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist. And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist. And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oath’s sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her. And immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought: and he went and beheaded him in the prison, And brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel: and the damsel gave it to her mother.”

Text “And when the daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod . . . the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee.” Mark 6:22

Before us is the Folly of Sensual Desires! The first person that we meet is a man with a great kingdom which includes all the wealth and power associated with it. He has thrown himself a birthday party consisting of wine, women, and song! In the midst of this party Herod does something extremely stupid; he offers to give a dancer half of his kingdom. Stop and think for a minute! What would possess anybody to give away half of everything they owned? The answer is found in the little phrase “pleased Herod.” The word “pleased” has the idea of exciting the emotions and comes from a word meaning to lift anchor, to encourage sin. When the anchor of moral restraint is lifted, the ship of lust can drift anywhere! Remember James 1:15 “Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” You may not possess a large material kingdom, but you do rule over a great moral kingdom consisting of your body and your reputation. How long does it take the sexual desires of lust to make a shipwreck of your life? How long does it take to say, “Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee.” Don’t compound the possibility of folly by saying, “It can’t happen to me!” Guard you life well, don’t become the next fool caught in the folly of sensual desires.