THE PARABLE OF THE SANDWICH SIGN by George Crumbly
Ezekiel 3:17-21
Sunday AM July 1, 2001
Sheridan, Arkansas
(This story was taken from a chapter in Max Lucado’s book "A Gentle Thunder" a very interesting story.)
One of the most important jobs you & I have as Christians? To WARN the wicked, to WARN those that are living in sin. You see, today there are only two ways the bible speaks of that we will travel they are:
1.) Down the road of destruction that leads to Hell or
2.) Down the road of life that leads to Heaven.
Today I ask you which road are you traveling down?
Ezekiel 3: verse 17
It is our duty as Christians to WARN the wicked. Do we even care that people are dying every day and heading to a burning Hell?
The Lord led me to use this story today, I used it several years ago when I was pastoring in Alabama, I enjoyed preaching it and I ran across the book a couple of weeks ago.
The story begins by explaining the only way into town, or the easiest way into town is to cross a big long bridge. On this night in particular after a long rain storm part of the bridge was washed away. There is a lot of traffic that crosses this bridge to come into town. On this night after the bridge washed away there were many cars that were traveling this road that wound up plunging into the deep water. Many people died because there was no WARNINGS about this terrible wash out.
Three men stood with the mayor of this town telling him "The rains have washed away the bridge during the night and many cars have driven over the edge into the deep water, what can we do? The mayor said to the three men "You must stand on the side of the road and WARN drivers not to make a left turn, telling them to take the one lane road that follows the side of the river." One of the men yelled out "But they drive so fast! How can we WARN them?" The mayor then explained to them "By wearing sandwich signs." Then he produced three wooden double-signs, hinged together to hang from ones shoulder. He explained that the three men were to go and stand at the crossroads so drivers could see these signs and be saved from the washed out bridge.
(NOTE: You will need 3 small signs that you can set up in the pulpit for the congregation to see each with it’s own wording: "Bridge Out", "Reduce Speed" and "Take Right Road.")
The mayor then handed each man a sandwich sign. The first man took his sign and it read:
"BRIDGE OUT"
He left and headed up to the bridge this caused him to feel good about being able to help folks in need actually saving them from their death. The second man said "Perhaps I should be next so I can help the drivers to slow down. His sign read:
"REDUCE SPEED"
"Good idea" agreed the third man, "I will stand over here at the curve so people will get off of the wide road and go onto the narrow road." His sign read:
"TAKE RIGHT ROAD"
So the three men went to the bridge and stood with their signs ready to WARN the travelers of the washed out bridge. AS the cars were approaching the bridge the first man stood out so the travelers could read "BRIDGE OUT", then the second man would make gestures with his hands pointing to his sign telling the travelers to "REDUCE SPEED".
As the motorist began to comply they would see the third sign as it read "RIGHT ROAD ONLY". Although the road was narrow, the cars complied and they were safe. Because of this hundreds of lives were saved by the three sign holders. BECAUSE THEY DID THEIR JOB MANY PEOPLE WERE KEPT FROM PERIL!!
Because these men did what they were called to do lives were saved. sounds like the church today doesn’t it? We desperately need to be about the Father’s business doing the job that He has called us to do so that souls will be saved.
Verses 18-19
You and I are like Watchmen, it is our responsibility to WARN the wicked. It is our task to deliver the message faithfully. What they do with the message once they receive it is their responsibility not ours. We can’t make folks do right all we can do is WARN them.
But like the world today, folks grow weary, tired, burnt out, the "new" wears off, maybe the "glory" of the job is gone or the thrill is over, whatever it is it happens way too much today.
After a few hours on the job the three men got lax on their post. The first man got sleepy so he took off his sign and put it beside the road where folks could read it but when he set down beside the sign and went to sleep he was unaware that he was covering up part of his sign. now instead of his sign rading "BRIDGE OUT", it simply read:
"BRIDGE"
The second man didn’t grow tired but he grew conceited, the longer he stood there and WARNED people the more important he felt. There were people that pulled off the road and thanked him personally for saving their life. some even told him "We might have died had you not told us to slow down." He thought to himself "you are so right."
So now he thinks he isas important as the sign so he takes off his sign and stands beside it unaware that he too is covering part of his WARNING so instead of the sign reading "REDUCE SPEED", his sign now reads:
"REDUCE"
Most drivers thought he was advertising a new diet plan.
Now the third man was neither tired or conceited, he was just concerned with the message on his sign. His sign read: "RIGHT ROAD ONLY". he began to think that the drivers should have a choice in the matter, he thought "who am I to tell these folks which road to take?" So he marked out the word "ONLY" and changed the word to
"PREFERRED"
Still that bothered him so after some consideration he thought and changed the sign again from "PREFERRED" to
"SUGGESTED"
But it still bothered him thinking that he might offend someone if they thought he knew something they didn’t know. He thought he needed something neutral. He backed off and looked the sign over and over thinking of something less offensive, something that would be the most politically correct message he could think of. Finally he changed the sign to read:
"RIGHT ROAD-ONE OF TWO EQUALLY VALID ALTERNATIVES"
So now we have it. While the first man slept, the second man stood and the third man altered the message, guess what was happening? One car after another plunged into the river.
Verses 19-20
Have we the church grown weary? Tired? Sleep? Too smart for the message of Jesus Christ? As Christians, as the church we have got to be about lost souls. We have to be concerned about the fact that many people leave this world every day headed to a devils hell.
(Hebrews 13:17) "Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you."
(I Thessalonians 5:14) "now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men."
When we know a person has turned from righteousness back to unrighteousness then we have a responsibility to WARN them. If you were to go back into the world wouldn’t you want someone to WARN you? When people turn away from God they usually won’t have anything to do with God’s people but we still have to wARN them.
Are you doing your part? Are you sleeping? Are you tired? Are you as important as the message? Are you trying to find the message suitable for the situation? There is only one message and that is the message of Jesus Christ.
The message to the church today is not for the lost but for the church to WARN the lost.
