Our pathway through this life is beset by many dangers and much darkness. There are paths that definitely lead to life, but there are also those that lead to death and damnation.
The Scriptures assure us that God knows all and sees all. He desires to keep us from the impending danger so that we will not be ensnared by the enemy. This message is intended to make us aware so that we may beware.
In Psalm 142:3, David said - "When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then Thou knewest my path..."
In other words, when he was in distress, at a loss, and ready to despair - he took great comfort in the fact that God marked his course.
When he was - in a sense - covered with darkness, trouble, and sorrow, God knew all about it.
When he was facing great trouble and was languishing, fainting, and feeling very feeble - God saw it all.
Psalm 46:1 - But even though the Lord is "a very present help in trouble," we have a Free Will. In spite of His warning signs all around us, we can choose to go our own way.
Wherein does the danger lie for the Christian? Let's examine the Scriptures to see what they have to say.
1. Beware Of Those Who Hate The Light
Job 24:13 - "They are of those that rebel against the light; they know not the ways thereof, nor abide in the paths thereof."
Watch out for those who "rebel against the light." These are the wicked who sin deliberately. They hate everything that is good or godly. They perform their works in the darkness of night. They are cruel and mischievous tyrants - not caring at all for the Lord or for His people. They are hardened sinners who oppress the poor.
2. Beware Of Those Who Want To Lead You Astray
Proverbs 28:10 - "Whoso causeth the righteous to go astray in an evil way..."
Watch out for the seducers who have one main objective - and that is to pervert you.
They may be in your family, on the job, or even in your church. They may be as close to you as your spouse or your best friend.
Their one goal is to "cool" you off. They don't want to see you "on-fire" for God. You are "too extreme" or fanatical for them. Whenever you are around, you make them feel so uncomfortable because they are not where they should be with God.
What they are determined to do is to throw "wet blankets" on your Holy Ghost Fire.
They have to distract you with many idols in order to draw you away from your Christ-centeredness.
They have to "loosen" your morals a bit because they feel that you are too "legalistic" in your obedience and wholehearted service to God!
You are simply too "sold-out." You need to calm down a bit.
Oh! Saint of God! Beware of such seducers.
3. Beware Of Those Who Want To Trap You
Psalm 57:6 - "They have prepared a net for my steps; my soul is bowed down: they have digged a pit before me, into the midst whereof they are fallen themselves."
Psalm 140:5 - "The proud have hid a snare for me, and cords; they have spread a net by the wayside; they have set gins for me."
Psalm 142:3 - "...In the way wherein I walked have they privily laid a snare for me."
Proverbs 16:27 - "An ungodly man diggeth up evil..."
Watch out for those who cannot stand to see you move on in God.
Watch out for those who cannot stand -
...to see you prosper
...for things to go well for you
...to see you blessed of the Lord and moving in your ministry
...to see your children blessed and being used by God.
They will do everything in their power to cause you to fall. They will prepare "a net" for your steps, dig "a pit" before you, and lay every imaginable "snare" to trap you.
The Scriptures say that they do their deceitful work "by the wayside" or "in the way wherein I walked." They know and observe your goings out and your comings in - whether it be at home, on the job, in the church house, or in the neighborhood.
They strive to take you by surprise, or when you are not on guard.
They seek to trap you when you least expect it - when you are most unaware of it.
They feign friendship and cover up any danger that is lurking in the background.
4. Beware Of Those Who Have Turned From The Paths Of Righteousness
Proverbs 2:12-15 - "To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things; Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness; Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked; Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths."
Watch out for the backslider or the one who is defiled with Bitterness toward God and everything that is holy or godly. He has nothing to offer you but "crooked ways," perverse counsels, and deeds of darkness.
His bitterness causes him to walk and talk in total contradiction to the Word of God. He is filled with a certain enmity toward the things of God. Therefore, with a certain vengeance, he desires to pervert others even as he is perverted. He is miserable and wants to make you miserable as well.
He is deadset on convincing you that you do not have to live holily and blamelessly before God. If you are not careful, he will convince you into thinking that it is okay to sin a little every day in thought, word, or deed.
5. Beware Of Those Of Loose Morals
Proverbs 2:16-18 - "To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words; Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God. For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead."
Proverbs 5:6,8 - "Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them...Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house."
Watch out for the "strange woman" - the whore or the "evil man" - the whoremonger.
These "strangers" are those who flatter with their mouths - tell you anything that you want to hear to stir up your passions and lead you down the path of least resistance to fleshly lusts which defile your body, soul, and spirit. They are totally estranged from any godly principles of virtue, chastity, or purity.
Their paths are treacherous. They are as "unsteady as an earthquake." It is impossible without the assistance of the Holy Spirit to realize all of their wiles and schemes.
They are corrupt and are corrupters. Their path leads to certain and unavoidable ruin.
Flee from their paths and ways. Don't go near their houses - lest you end up losing your soul in an adulterer's Hell for all eternity.
6. Beware Of Those Who Are Slothful
Proverbs 15:19 - "The way of the slothful man is as an hedge of thorns..."
Watch out for the Dream Killer. This one will destroy any vision or dream that you receive from God by telling you how impossible it is to get the job done.
All that this person can ever see are the problems rather than the answers or the solutions.
All he can see are the barriers and the hindrances but never the breakthroughs or the open doors made possible by God.
This individual has a mind problem - a wild imagination.
Because he refuses to spend time seeking the Lord for himself, he has nothing to offer. His mind becomes fertile soil for Satan's seeds of unbelief, doubt, and fear.
Hence, he sees every path thick with briars, thorns, hedges, or fences - figurative language for hardships, dangers, difficulties, hindrances, and barriers.
7. Beware Of Those Leaders Who Excuse You In Your Sin
Isaiah 3:12 - "As for My people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them, O My people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths."
Watch out for those leaders who promise you "Peace" when you are living in sin.
They never warn you of the dangers ahead for all those who Play With Sin.
They never preach of a Hot Hell - awaiting all those who refuse to repent or turn away from all ungodliness.
They make the Grace of God a license to sin.
They excuse wickedness in the believer's life every chance they can get.
They broaden the "narrow way" by preaching anything and everything defiling and unclean as entering into God's Holy Heaven.
They advocate - either through their words or their loose morals - that God is a God Who winks at Sin and doesn't take it very seriously.
In Proverbs 4:14-15, King Solomon - the wisest man outside of the Lord Jesus Christ - warned us with these words - "Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away."
These are some very strong words, wouldn't you say so?
It surely doesn't seem as though the King was taking this sin issue too lightly here.
Look how many times and in how many different ways he admonished us to get away from the path of sin - "Enter not into...go not in the way...Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away."
In other words, take heed of the ways of Sin.
Stay away from everything that looks like it and leads to it.
Shun wicked company - lest you be defiled by their evil and detestable ways.
Be sure to always keep a great distance between yourselves and Sin and sinners.
Yes, God knows the way that we take. He knows our "coming in" and our "going out."
But He also knows the dangers that beset us and desires that we be aware that we may beware.
Have you - in any way - gone the wrong way?
Has this message made you aware of the fact that you need to repent, turn around, and get back on the right course again?
Proverbs 15:10 informs us - "Correction is grievous unto him that forsaketh the way..."
If for some reason, this message upset or irritated you in any way, there is a good chance that you are headed in the wrong direction. Those who have forsaken the right way are the ones who cannot bear to be reproved for their wrongdoing.
We pray that this message will make you fully aware of your need to be circumspect in your walk with the Lord. There are many paths that are misleading. Along the way, there are those who desire to see you fall from your steadfastness.
May God endue us with Power from on high so that we will be enabled to walk the Straight and Narrow Path - avoiding all the pitfalls along the way.
In Jesus' Name we pray.
Amen & Amen.
Copyright by Connie Giordano
