The Warning Series

On a Friday afternoon, May 31, 1889 a man by the name of

Daniel Peyton came galloping down the road in Johnstown, Penn.

Sparks were flying from the hoofs of his big bay horse. He was

shouting for all he was worth that the damn had broken. Some

believed his warning and fled to the hills. Others thought he was

crazy, and they ignored the warning. They said, we have heard

rumors for years that the damn might burst, but they were always

false rumors. They just laughed and went about their business.

Scarcely had Daniel ridden out of town, however, when they heard

another sound. It was a dreadful rumble and roar of a flood. Now

it was too late, and in moments a wall of water 15 feet high came

tumbling down upon them, and hundreds of people were swept to

their death.

Warnings are funny things. They are so important, and yet they

do not do a thing if they are not obeyed. From the time we are

children we have to learn how to obey warnings. When mother tells

us the stove is hot, and we do not chose to obey and touch it anyway,

we get burned, and suffer the consequences of not giving heed to a

warning. We are warned not to play by the river, and not to cross

the busy street, and not to get into a car of a stranger, and not to eat

or drink anything under the sink. Yet, every year thousands of

children die because they do not obey these warnings. Medicine

bottles have the warning, keep out of the reach of children, but

children die by the thousands because this warning is not heeded.

Warnings are one of the best things we have in life, for they protect

us from all kinds of dangers.

Millions of people have been saved by warnings. Fire alarm

systems have saved many. Warnings of dangerous traffic situations

have saved many, and warnings about dangerous poisons have done

the same. Let's face it, warnings are wonderful, but we also must

face the fact that we hate them. We want to do as we please, and so

we despise warnings that tell us we will suffer if we go our way.

Adam and Eve were warned not to eat the forbidden fruit, but they

did not heed the warning, and the result was the fall of man.

Warnings are made every year about the danger of mixing alcohol

and driving, yet millions of self-confident drinkers have laughed at

that warning, and now they have filled the graveyards of our land.

Warnings are made by the government, and studies from

universities support them, that smoking is harmful to your health.

Millions consider it a big joke, even though thousands die every year

due directly to their smoking habit. Death wins every time we refuse

to listen to a warning. Napoleon kept on marching toward Moscow

in his determination to conquer the world, even though he had clear

warning that he was being foolish. The storks and the cranes were

flying South because they knew a terrible winter was coming. God

gave the animal kingdom built in instincts to obey the warnings of

nature. Man was left free to choose, and Napoleon chose to ignore

the warning of the birds. When the storm hit, and he had to retreat,

he left a half a million men frozen to death scattered over the

countryside.

You would think men would learn from the folly of others, but

even knowing the tragic mistake of Napoleon, Hitler did the same

thing in 1941. He decided to attack Russia and get deep into it, and

then came the cold of winter. He was warned about the deadly cold

winters in Russia, but he replaced all the generals who warned him

that it was a hopeless situation. Hitler refused to listen to any

warning, and the result was the German Army was defeated, and

that was the beginning of Hilter's downfall. We can thank God that

he was a fool. Fools never learn to like warnings. They refuse to let

warnings change their minds and their plans. How does a wise man

differ from a fool? The wise man gives heed to warnings.

Noah was not a perfect man, nor was he free from sin and folly.

He got drunk after the flood, and brought shame upon himself and

his family. Still, he became the greatest and wisest man of his day

because he had the wisdom to heed God's warning. God said He

was going to destroy the world, and Noah did not laugh and say,

people are always saying the world is going to end. He said, I

believe, and he got busy and built an ark, and he was ready when