The Wicked is reserved unto the Day of Destruction
Job 21:30 That the wicked is reserved to the day of destruction? They shall be brought forth to the day of wrath.
There was a survey done in 1993 on evangelism. The statistics are alarming. Ninety-five percent of all Christians have never won a soul to Christ. Less than 2% is involved in evangelism. Yet, all born again Christians believe they have a responsibility to share their faith with the unbelievers. William Booth had an audience with King Edward VII and this is what he said to the king. “"Your Majesty, some men's passion is for art. Some men's passion is for fame. My passion is for souls.”
Why is it that godly men have a passion for souls? Because they see the big picture of the wicked. We need to see a clear picture of the wicked and how they live fearlessly before God. Then we need to see that God’s wrath will come upon them suddenly as they are reserved for destruction. Then thirdly on part two of this sermon we will see it all begins with prayer, as the believer will have a passion to win souls for Christ.
The Bible shows a clear precise picture of the wicked and how they live without any fear before the Almighty Holy God. Turn in your Bibles to Job 21 and I will be reading from 1599 Geneva Bible.
Job 21:7 Wherefore do the wicked live, and wax old, and grow in wealth.
Here we see the wicked sinful people who live a godless lifestyle live long and they increase in their wealth. The American dream is to have a nice comfortable home, comfortable cars, a good job with great life insurance, health insurance, make all the money you can and enjoy this earth for your pleasure. The wicked are making plans how to make money, how to save money, going on vacations, plans for improvement in life as they are ambitious in going higher and higher because you can live more comfortably. They have great security in the bank accounts. Their wealth becomes their heaven.
Verse 8. Their seed is established in their sight with them, and their generation before their eyes.
Their descendents, children are well established in this world as they live comfortably. They are well settled and prosperous. Not only their children but also their grand children as they live to see their grand children grow up in great pleasures and comforts of this world. They have all the toys and the comforts where the poor has not even seen.
Verse 9. Their houses are peaceable without fear, and the rod of God is not upon them.
Their home is like a little heaven on earth where they can rest in comfort and peace. They make sure they have good security. They spend their wealth to build this little heaven on earth for their comforts, pleasure and security. God is not disciplining them but allowing them to prosper.
Verse 10. Their Bullock gendereth, and faileth not. Their cow calveth, and casteth not her calf.
Here we see the increase of their wealth as they have few problems. Some ignorant Christians looking at them may say, “They are being blessed by God.” But these Christians do not see as they are heading fast to hell without Christ.
Verse 11. They send forth their children like sheep, and their sons dance.
Their children are like sheep, like a flock well taken care, they are good looking and healthy in appearance, they dance and live according to the fashions of this world. They get what ever they covet.
Verse 12. They take the tambourine and harp, and rejoice in the sound of the organs.
Their kids love the worldly music, the sounds of this world brings great pleasure to their flesh. Their idols are Hollywood actors and singers; their hearts are filled with their music. We know recently when a wicked Hollywood woman who lived in adultery died it became the headline news showing the world’s sorrow for her death. Every room of the wicked has TV’s and entertainment for the flesh. They cannot live without satellite or cable TV. They cannot live without Hollywood movies. Oh! How they love the world.
I am going to skip verse 13 and go to verse 14
Verse 14. They say also unto God. Depart from us; we desire not the knowledge of thy ways.
They don’t want the true holy God of the Bible to be in the center of their homes as they will be convicted of their sins, so they want God out of their family devotions, family reading of the Bible and prayer. They desire not the knowledge of reading and studying his Holy word as it will convict them of their pleasures of sin, they hate conviction of sin as it may hurt their flesh so they rather let not God rule them. But they chose their own god and religion, the god whom they want to believe, a Jesus who will wink at every sin, a god who will compromise.
Why is God allowing the wicked to prosper? Why won’t God bring judgment to them right away? God often times gives long life and prosperity to the wicked so they cannot say that God is unjust.
Verse 13. They spend their days in wealth, and suddenly they go down to the grave.
Instant of suddenly some of your Bibles may say, “peace they
do down.” They used the word peace instead of suddenly. The word peace is a
wrong translation. The Hebrew word used here is rega` reh'- gah. It means
instantly, in a moment or suddenly. The Geneva Bible, KJV, NKJV, American
Standard Version and the New American Standard Version is correct in their translations,
sad to say all the others are incorrect as they used the word ‘peace.’
Now let me do an exposition of the above. The wicked continues to
sin as they do not see an immediate judgment upon them, they can get by with
God as God is not punishing their disobedience, so they accelerate their sins. When
they see a police officer they are convicted of past dues in breaking the law
but they do not see God so they happily continue in their sins.
But the holy scriptures give us understanding as the sinners are accumulating,
adding their sins and multiplying their sins daily to their account. The
punishment is going to be deadly. Let me give you an illustration for us to
understand the picture here. If a king finds a city in his country that is
wicked and rebellious, he will not send an army of soldiers to kill all the
people instantly in the city but first he would send some of his officers to
warn them. But if they will not listen and continue to sin, the king will
gather his hosts for the battle to destroy the city of disobedience. The king
takes his time as he gives time for the wicked people to repent and at the same
time, he will gather his troops for the great massacre of that city.
If you are in a boat in the middle of the sea and see a black
cloud darkens the sky you will not say, “I don’t fear now as I don’t see a
storm now.” But black clouds of sins are gathering from all corners as you are
adding daily sins to your account in disobedience to God. The deadly artillery
of heaven is gathering up against your sins and do not say just because you do
not see the blast of the thunder storm or the hurricane there is no storm
coming. Right now it is gathering forces and accumulating it’s fury against
your sins, the longer it gathers the more terrible it’s going to be as in a
moment, suddenly without any warning it will burst upon you.
As of today, God’s clouds of fury are gathering in the sky, he is
not pouring his immediate wrath upon you, and you think you are in peace,
prosperity, and everything is blessed! No, God is long suffering and he is
active and punish you with a dreadful force.
God is infinitely holy and just. He will not compromise with sin,
sin must be punished. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God just eating the forbidden
fruit, seems to be like a small sin but see the result. Death came to all as
all sinned. (Rom 5:12) This is the original sin, the inherited sin. During the
time of Noah, people were doing their business as usual, they were eating,
drinking and given in marriage but suddenly the floodgates of heaven opened, the
cisterns of heaven emptied as the fury of God’s wrath drowned every man, woman,
child and infant, except Noah and family as they found grace in the eyes of the
Lord. (Gen 6:8)
This is the God of the Bible, the holy just God; God is love yes
but at the same time God is just. It was a wealthy city, Sodom and Gomorrah, it
was also a wicked city as they practiced homosexuality as men inflamed in their
lusts and men had sexed with each other. Did God wink at their sins and say go
ahead I am a loving God. No, the holy loving God of the Bible is just and will
punish sin, he rained fire and brimstone upon that city and every man, woman,
child and infant died in God’s fury except Lot and his family, but his worldly
wife was turned into a pillar of salt.
God in his fury drowned the proud hearted Pharaoh and his army in
the read sea, God commanded Joshua to kill every man, woman and child as their
entrance to the land of Canaan. God is the governor and the judge of the world.
Also, God is building his fury against you who are disobedience to him.
Ex 15:3, The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name.
Listen to me; you may live comfortably in this life, with peace
and prosperity without obedience to the Lord of heaven. The Lord may not bring
immediate judgment upon you but he has reserved his judgment as a day of
destruction is coming.
Job 20:27 The heavens will reveal his iniquity, and the earth will
rise up against him.
28 The possessions of his house will be carried away, dragged off in
the day of God’s wrath.
29 This is the wicked man’s portion from God, the heritage decreed
fro him by God.”
Why did God send his only beloved Son to suffer, bleed and to be
crucified, why did he go through the agony of death? Because God is holy and
just. God demanded satisfaction as he was offended by sin; sin was a crime against
the holy God of heaven. Sin cannot be taken away without punishment. Christ was
just and sinless but God poured out his fury and wrath upon his beloved Son. Christ took the place of the wicked sinner. Now
if you truly believe and trust in Christ, obey and love Christ and follow him
you are set free in Christ Jesus. But if you repent only now and later harden
your heart and continue to live in disobedience, you are not a child of God. Not
truly born again.
1Jo 3:9 Whosoever is born of God sinneth not; for his seed
remaineth in him, neither can he sin, because he is born of God.
God is not mocked and you are storing sin in heaven and God’s
arrow is pointing directly at your heart and instantly he can release it, when
he does you will fall into the lake of fire.
There will not a single sin you have committed will go
unremembered. Jesus said, “Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall
give account thereof at the day of judgment. (Mat 12:36)
Then how much more every blasphemous word, every thought of sin,
your wicked motivations, jealousy, anger, covetousness, every rebellious act
toward God, every thought of sin will not escape the punishment that is
reserved for you. The wicked is reserved for the day of wrath, a day of destruction.
You will remember all the opportunities missed and neglected, your conscience
will begin to thunder how you neglected God’s word but enjoyed the pleasures of
this life on earth. You never had any fears of judgment on earth as you were so
comfortable and lived in peace but at the day of judgment you will be thrown
into the lake of fire. The pain is going to be terrible.
Lu 3:17 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will make clean his
floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner, but the chaff will be burned
up with fire that never will be quenched.
Mat 25:46 And these will go into everlasting pain, and the
righteous into life eternal.
It is a sea of fire, never reaching a way out, no escape eternal
pain. A true faithful loving pastor will tell the truth without any compromise.
Men will feel uneasy of their sins and their offenses against God, sinners will
tremble in their shoes. If your knees are knocking, then you should fall down
at your knees before the Great King of the universe and confess, “I deserve
your wrath O God, what must I do to be saved?”
Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ in all your heart, trust in him,
obey him, love his for his suffering and sacrifice for you, let go off your
sins fall into his hands and he shall preserve you and keep you in heaven for
eternity with him.
Isaac Watts said in his hymn,
“A guilty, weak and helpless worm, on Christ’s kind arms I fall.
He is my strength and my righteousness, my Jesus and my all.”
This is why William Booth said to King Edward VII "Your Majesty, some men's passion is for art. Some men's passion is for fame. My passion is for souls.” Because he saw the true picture of the sinners. May the Lord give you a passion for souls.