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
the warning came true. Noah was a man of faith, and faith is that
attitude that takes God's warnings seriously. God has made it clear
that He is going to destroy the world again, but this time by fire.
When Christ comes again there will be a final judgment for those
who are ungodly. He loves men so much that He delays His coming.
He is long suffering, and not willing that any shall perish. But in
love He has given us warning, and if that day comes and you are not
ready, you will be like those in Noah's day, up a creek without a
paddle. You will be written down in eternity along with a list of all
the fool's who had a clear warning but laughed and ignored it.
There are those who try to escape the urgency of the warning by
saying God is love. What they fail to realize is that nobody hates hell
more than God. God has done everything He can to rob hell of its
victims. He gave His Son to die for all men that none need end up in
hell. Jesus gave His life, and sent His church into all the world to
warn men of the folly of going to hell, when He has opened up the
way to be forgiven so that all might enter heaven. The good news of
the Gospel is that nobody needs to be a fool. Nobody needs to be
lost. Nobody needs to go to hell, and be separated from the God who
loves them. God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Jesus
takes no joy in judgment, for He died that men might escape it.
Repent says the Word of God to the sinner. Turn from your
wicked way, and put your trust in Me, and I will forgive and
cleanse, and make you a new creature. Your whole destiny hangs on
what kind of person you choose to be. If you choose to be a
self-centered mocker of warnings, who refuses to do anything but
that which is your own way, then you will go the way of all warning
mockers, and perish in your folly. If you swallow your pride and by
faith heed the warning, and put your trust in Jesus, you will go the
way of all warning heeders, and you will be forever a part of the
family of God.
Do not be a despiser of warnings. The town of Amyalea was so
often alarmed by false rumors that the Spartans were coming that
they made a decree that no one ever mention the subject again.
When the Spartans did come there was no warning, and they easily
took the town. It is foolish to despise warnings. A fire broke out
back stage in a theater, and the clown in the show came out to warn
the public. They all thought it was a joke and applauded. The
world will end with many who think the warnings are all a joke, and
learn the hard way that judgment is no joke.
Nobody wants to be awakend in the night by someone shouting
fire, but thank God, if there is a fire, someone cared enough to sound
a warning. What would you think of a neighbor who saw your
house on fire in the night, and said to himself, "I would wake them
up if I shouted, and I hate to disturb them at this hour." You would
be appalled at such a foolish attitude. Go ahead and disturb them.
Throw a rock though the bedroom window if you have to, but give
them a warning. It is love that warns. It is because parents love
their children that they warn them of the dangers. If no warning is
given, that is a cruel indifference.
Why should anyone be angry if someone says repent and turn
from your wicked way or you will perish. That is not a cry of one
who hates you, that is a cry of love and grace. It is the cry of God to
spare men from judgment. You do not have to like warnings to obey
them. You may not like your neighbor at all, but if he is crying out,
fire, fire, you must recognize it is only wise to respond to it. What
would you think of a man who is drowning, who says of the rope
being thrown to him, that he does not like that kind of rope, for
there is a better kind of rope made by a different company. A man
who drowns with such an absurd objection on his lips deserves to
drown, and few could be made to weep at his loss.
The Bible makes it clear that men are responsible for how they
respond to warnings. If they choose to ignore them and are
unprepared, their blood will be on their own head. There is no one
to blame but themselves. No one can say it is God's fault, my
parents fault, or societies fault, for every man is responsible for how
he chooses to respond to warnings. It may be true that your parents
never loved you, your teachers never taught you, your friends let
you down, and your community rejected you, but the fact is, God
loves you and made a way for you to overcome all of the negatives of
life. If you choose not to come to Him, and be made whole, and if
you choose not to take the way of escape, then you , and you alone,
are responsible for your judgment. You can be wise and receive
Christ as your Savior, or you can ignore the warnings to those who
have no Savior, and be a fool. The choice is yours.
