OPEN: I once read the true story of their English professor who was on her way to class one day. She was running late and was going over the speed limit. Then she saw the dreaded red and blue lights in her rear view mirror and heard the siren, and she pulled over. As the policeman was making out her ticket, he asked her why she’d been going so fast. Being an English professor, she thought she’d be a little clever… and so she quoted Robert Frost: "I have promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep."
The police officer smiled, and having apparently read a fair amount of Robert Frost’s poems himself, replied: "Well Miss, Frost chose the road less traveled, and, unfortunately for you… this wasn't it."
APPLY: When Jesus was on the earth, He declared:
“… Wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Matthew 7:13-14
Wise people and righteous people seek the road less traveled, and they find life and rest for their souls. But the foolish and the evil seek the popular road… and they end up finding discord and destruction.
And that’s part of the message from Proverbs 24
“the wicked are brought down by calamity.” (vs. 16)
They will “fall” they will “stumble” (vs. 17)
“the evil man has no future hope, and the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out.” (vs. 20)
And both our God and the King will bring “sudden destruction upon them” (vs. 22)
Now, if that’s true…
• If it’s true that the wicked have no hope and their lives will be miserable.
• If it’s true they will fall and stumble and ultimately they are destroyed.
Why on earth would so many people choose to live the lifestyle of the wicked?
As I was thinking about this question, I stumbled upon some verses out of Isaiah 5, and in that passage I found at least 4 answers to the question.
1st - Isaiah 5:18-19 says “Woe to those… who say, ‘Let God hurry, let him hasten his work so we may see it. Let it approach, let the plan of the Holy One of Israel come, so we may know it.’”
The wicked laugh at God. They mock Him. They don’t think He’s looking.
They say: Let God hurry, let Him hasten his work so we may see it. Let his work approach so we may know it.
(In a mocking voice) Yeah, like that’s gonna happen. He’s not even looking.
They mock God. They’re like a school yard bully that taunts every other kid on the playground. They think they’re untouchable. That God’s not going to do anything to them!!!
But what they don’t understand is: God isn’t ALWAYS sin a hurry to punish people. As it says in 2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is PATIENT with you, NOT WANTING anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”
God’s not in any hurry to punish the wicked. He wants to give them sufficient time to repent.
The 2nd reason people choose the wicked lifestyle is that they get used to calling evil good and good evil. Isaiah 5:20 says:
“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.”
You see, the wicked try very hard to make evil things sound normal and good.
We’re going to have a little test.
• What do bars call the time where encourages people to get drunk? It’s called the “_____ hour” (Happy). It’s a time set aside to be “happy”.
• Homosexuality is called the “____ lifestyle” (Gay). It’s intended to portray sodomy as being fun and enjoyable.
• And the killing of innocent babies who are still in the womb is called “______ rights” (Women’s). And the child that is aborted is called a __________ (fetus). It isn’t really a human… it’s a fetus.
And you could go on and on and on with the insane attempts to make evil look good.
ILLUS: Years back there was a popular sitcom called “Spin City” (do you remember it?)
It starred Michael J. Fox and it was about a group of advisers to a NYC Mayor.
One of the actors on that sitcom was Michael Boatman. He played homosexual activist Carter Heywood and he said comedies are perfect vehicles for controversial subjects like homosexuality.
Boatman told TV Guide, "The best way to slide these controversial issues under America's doorstep, into their living rooms, is to have them start laughing first. Suddenly they find themselves, if not accepting new ideas, certainly more willing to discuss them."
What was Boatman saying?
He was saying that once you got people to laugh about sin, you stood a chance of people accepting it - calling evil good, and good evil.
The 3rd reason people embrace wickedness is because they become convinced of how smart they are:
“Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight.” Isaiah 5:21
ILLUS: A couple years back I read a column by a Seminary professor. He was trying to say that our idea that the Bible was all we needed for good doctrine was wrong. He quoted one of our “mottos” (I can’t remember if it was “our only book is the Bible” or “Where the Bible speaks we speak, and where the Bible is silent we’re silent”). But his comment was that our mottos were naïve. To believe that all you needed was the Bible was too innocent. He said that may times you needed to have scholars explain the Bible for you.
Now, I’ve got nothing against scholars. And I DO believe they can help us know God’s Word better at times. But whenever I hear a man tell me that the Bible can’t be understood without the help of scholars… red flags go up all over the place.
That type of person is generally trying to slip in false doctrine under the radar. And sure enough, within a few paragraphs that’s precisely what he tried to do. He introduced a heresy that those of us who accept the Bible as inerrant would never tolerate.
His “great learning” made him wise in his own eyes/ clever is in his own sight. And he tried to mask his heresy behind the curtain of scholarship.
The last reason people choose the wide gate of evil is because they make create evil heroes.
“Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine and champions at mixing drinks...” Isaiah 5:22
A few months ago, numerous College Students took place in a tradition that has been around for years. They go on Spring Break. And where do they usually go? (Florida, Texas or the Bahamas) And these College Students go to beaches to get drunk and party. The heroes on the beach are the ones who can hold their liquor.
The wicked try very hard to mock the righteous as being “out of touch” and “holier than thou”, while in the meantime they embrace heroes that are drunkards of sexually immoral.
ILLUS: One of my favorite pastimes is watching TV shows and movies about Superheroes. But I’ve noticed something over the years. It used to be that the heroes were happy people. Nowadays, they’re more often portrayed angry, bitter and vengeful. I believe part of the reason for that is that our culture has become so corrupt that it’s heroes reflect what the lives of those who reject God are like.
So, in Isaiah, God tells us that people embrace wickedness because
1. They believe God doesn’t care/ He’s not watching them (if He’s even there).
2. They have convinced themselves the evil is good/ good is evil
3. They’ve become impressed with their own sense of self-importance and wisdom
4. And they’ve grown used to making heroes of villains.
Now the problem for Christians is that wickedness can be really appealing.
I mean – there’s a reason why the road is broad and the gate is wide leading to destruction.
Proverbs 24:19 warns us about that reason “Do not… be envious of the wicked”
Now, why on earth would I be envious of the wicked?
Well, because the wicked get to do a lot of fun stuff.
They enjoy large parties.
They’re part of the “in” crowd.
They play games and go do goofy stuff in the middle of the night that most folks would never think of doing.
And they’re not constrained by things like morality.
• If they want to get drunk or smoke weed or take other drugs - why, it’s their body. They believe they should be able to do what they want to with it.
• If they see a good looking girl/boy and they want to sleep with them. Why shouldn’t they? Who’s it hurt?
• And if they want to steal… why not? I mean, they have it – I want it. And it’s all the better if I can somehow convince myself that the person they’re stealing from is a bad person - that they doesn’t deserve all that stuff.
It’s kind of like being a modern day Robin Hood.
I steal from rich and I give to (pause)… myself!
You see, righteousness is kind of constricting. And some folks make fun of Godliness because it doesn’t seem that much fun.In fact, there’s a derogatory word for righteous living:
Puritanical
ILLUS: One critic said that…
"Puritanism is the haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy." (H.L. Mencken)
But in reality, the Puritans actually were extremely happy people. They read good books and enjoyed music. They swam and skated, hunted and fished, and played at archery and bowling. They had all kinds of fun.
But they had a commitment to a God who was there… and who cared. And they wanted to please Him.
They may not have gotten everything right.
But I’m pretty sure they didn’t suffer from an epidemic of venereal disease.
And they didn’t have people stealing from others to supply for their habits.
And they took care of the poor and needy in their communities.
They were people you could trust.
When they were around you could leave your door unlocked and your windows wide open.
And they were people God took care of.
ILLUS: According to one history of New England, the Indians at one time were on the warpath. But they avoided attacking the Puritan town of Concord. Why? Because the Indians feared the influence that their minister had with the Great Spirit. The history quotes an old Indian chronicle as follows: "We no prosper if we burn Concord. The Great Spirit love that people. He tell us not to go there. They have a great man there. He great pray." (from document: “Old Sudbury”, p. 23)
Now… my point is this: Being “Pure” CAN be fun… it’s JUST a different kind of fun.
And it also has all kinds of extra perks and benefits, not the least of which is God’s watching your back.
By contrast, the popular activities of the wicked may seem fun for awhile… but there is a price to be paid.
“the wicked are brought down by calamity.” (Proverbs 24:16)
They will “fall” they will “stumble” (vs. 17)
“the evil man has no future hope, and the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out.” (vs. 20)
Both our God and the King will bring “sudden destruction upon them” (vs. 22)
Galatians 6:7 says it this way: “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.”
If you decide to live in disobedience… you’ll get exactly what you pay for.
And you’re not going to like it.
Now there’s one more command in Proverbs 24 about how to deal with wicked people.
“Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice, or the LORD will see and disapprove and turn his wrath away from him.” Proverbs 24:17-18
Now excuse me (Pause) but when I see my enemies getting what they deserve I’d at least like to chuckle… a little bit. I’d like to jump for glee… just a small jump.
Aww, come on, let’s be honest. There’s some folks I’d just love to dance on the grave of. I don’t like these folks/ they’ve hurt me, insulted me, damaged me. That’s why they’re my enemies.
ILLUS: A famous lawyer once said: "I have not killed anyone, but I frequently get satisfaction out of obituary notices." Clarence Darrow
But God says… don’t do that.
One sure way of making sure your enemies don’t get what they deserve is for you or I to step in and rejoice at their downfall.
Job 31:29-30 says it this way "If I have rejoiced at my enemy’s misfortune or gloated over the trouble that came to him—I have not allowed my mouth to sin by invoking a curse against his life.”
ILLUS: Some time back I was watching a documentary about WWII. They were showing scenes of aerial combat - where American pilots were fighting their enemies.
One scene showed an enemy aircraft shooting down an American plane. And then, when the American ejected from his plane and was drifting down to earth under his parachute, the enemy pilot flew in, opened up with his machine gun… and killed the pilot who’d ejected from his plane.
That made me angry.
This was the act of coward.
How much would a man have to hate someone to do this… even to their enemy?
But, that’s exactly how God views any of us who would kick an enemy when he/she is down. In God’s eyes - to rejoice over the downfall of our enemies is unworthy of us.
ILLUS: Once, when Jesus was passing through Samaria, a village along the way refused to welcome Him. The text doesn’t say… but the impression I get is that they were fairly rude about it. So, Luke 9:54 tells us “When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, "Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?"
Yeah! Alright! That’ll teach them!
But Jesus didn’t react that way.
He rebuked them.
In the KJV it says Jesus told them “Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.”
Let me repeat a verse we read at the beginning of this message:
“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is PATIENT with you, NOT WANTING anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9
God doesn’t want anybody going to hell.
And He doesn’t want us to want that for anybody either.
ILLUS: Let me tell you the story of man in the first century. This man hated Christianity. He was actively involved in death of one of the first Christian martyrs. And THEN he got serious about persecuting the church.
He went from house to house, he had men and women and put them in prison. (Acts 8:3)
He even contemplated murdering a few Christians because he hated them so much. (Acts 9:1)
His name was Saul, and he was one mean character.
But then, one day, Jesus had a little chat with Saul.
Saul fell from his donkey and was immediately blinded by God.
And Jesus told Saul to go to Damascus to the home of a man named Judas and wait for a messenger from God to talk to him.
Then Jesus stopped in at the home of a man named Ananias and had a chat with him.
Ananias response was: “You can’t be serious!”
“I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name."
In other words: “I’d be more than happy to preach his funeral. But I’d just as soon not meet him while he’s alive.”
But Ananias obeyed Jesus… and he went to speak to his enemy.
The result was the baptism of a man who WAS an enemy, but who later became one of the greatest leaders in the early church.
Saul became Paul.
And worked tirelessly for Jesus as a missionary, founding a number of new churches.
And he wrote nearly ½ of your New Testament.
All of this happened because Ananias went to his enemy with the message of Jesus.
Because that is God’s whole objective.
He doesn’t want anyone to perish and go to hell.
And the primary people He uses to stop others from going there… is us.
We need to be willing to stop thinking of our enemies… as being enemies.
CLOSE: About 3 years ago, a 38-year-old garbage man and former Marine named Chris Simpson was man filled with hatred. In fact, he had the words "PURE HATE" tattooed across his knuckles.
After the loss of his first child, Simpson had a lot of hatred and anger built up inside. He joined a “white pride movement” because it gave him a place to direct his anger and frustration—towards people of other races.
Then, one day a Christian invited Chris and family to watch the movie “Courageous.” Then he began attending church. A month later he was baptized into Jesus Christ.
Simpson said "Any kind of burdens I carried before, I let them go. There’s no need to carry things that happen in the past. I forgave all those who wronged me and asked forgiveness from those that I have wronged."
So because somebody cared enough to reach out to him, Simpson left his hatred behind him. And, he’s gone through the Freedom Ink Tattoo removal program too – starting with the word HATE on his knuckles.
This man changed because someone reached out to an enemy of Jesus.
Someone cared enough to introduce our Jesus to this man.
And because someone cared, an entire family was changed.
We believe in that truth so strongly at this congregation, that we offer a time of invitation every Sunday for those who need that same hope and renewal in their lives.
INVITATION
