Wicked

Wicked

2/7/21

It is not difficult to immediately think about this word and the stereotypic symbolism that is attached to it, and for someone to quickly think this would not be wrong in their assessments.  However, being wicked does not always mean being hateful, spiteful, destructive, and filled with hatred, for some of the most gentle and kind people are just as wicked in the eyes of God as those who destroy businesses and peoples' lives.  It is this challenge of our beliefs that need to be reevaluated for even though these folks may not be out destroying property they are destroying their own dominion by living without God in their lives.  It is our responsibility to love these people just as much as we should the ones who torment the innocent for their eternity is at stake just as the violent criminal.  No, the job is not easier even though the attitude may seem calmer, for the ruler of the world still resides in their hearts as well which makes them a prime target of God, His Son, and His Son's Salvation.

All of us see many horrid things each and every day, they are vivid in nature and can produce extravagant scenes that our minds will never forget and through this remembrance process force their images into our hearts.  For as long as I can remember my eyes have watched horrible things humans do to other humans, and as time has marched on those scenes become numerous each week.  It does not matter what the circumstances may be or where in the world one wants to refer to those types of images come to us in sharp detail.  It is impossible to miss such events, for it no longer takes a television or even a radio to be subject to such violent escapades.  Just the other day, I watched a news report where a person went into a home and shot the entire family inside.  The first question that we think of is, "why"?  What did those precious babies do to deserve to be killed?  This type of setting is what many of us deem as being wicked, and how our society has become through the selfishness of our hearts, but that is not all of the projected wickedness scenes, there are plenty more available and through these types of examples it is easy to say that God is no longer in our lives; one would not be incorrect here.

But what about the person who goes to work every day, does their duty at work properly, comes home after work, and has a quiet night at home, goes to bed just to rise up and repeat this routine the next day?  What about those who are so talented that they invent numerous instruments that will help us in our future lives, or invent artificial joints so that almost everyone in a weakened condition can receive a replacement and walk like they were twenty years old again?  All of these people and countless more like them seem to do good for the world and for their lives, so why ever would they be placed into the same category of wickedness as the violent criminal?  I know it is hard to fathom and some may not agree with this but according to God and His Word, if we do not accept Him and His Son as their Creator and Savior, we are just as wicked as the one who commits heinous crimes against humanity.

Psalm 32:10

"Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the Lord, mercy shall compass him about."

Hebrew

"Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but loving devotion surrounds him who trusts in the Lord."

Can we honestly state that only people that are considered to be violently wicked the ones who are filled with sorrows to the point where they cannot find any hope or direction in life?  This question should be very easy to answer but for some reason, we unqualify ourselves to answer it properly because we do not deem the nonviolent people worthy enough to be considered wicked.  In fact, if we stop and think about both of these conditions of the human heart we might be surprised to learn that the so-called violent wicked person may be easier to win for the Lord than the one who might seem to have it all together.  Ironically, it is these nonviolent wicked people that many churches welcome into the congregations and just allow them to suffer from their sins quietly instead of understanding exactly what is transpiring through their hearts.  What do you consider the definition of "wicked" to be?  God defines it as anything that is not of, for, to, from, Him. In other words, disobedience.

It is easy to ignore a higher power when one is considered to have everything that one needs to survive in life.  I have heard countless times when I have asked someone how they are: "oh, just living the dream" and as these words come from their lips it is not too much longer than their entire attitude or demeanor states something else, clearly demonstrating that they have no idea who God is or what His Son did for them.  Am I to believe that these folks are easier to reach for Christ, I should think not since Jesus spoke many times about the rich and comfortable and how difficult it would be for them to get into Heaven.  Yet, many church denominations allow them into their congregations and not ensure their salvation and eternal placement.  Also, who causes the most issues within the church body?  Is it the ones who are down and out in society or is it the ones who seem to have it all together?  Think about that for a bit folks.

This is where the knowledge concerning spiritual warfare comes into play.  Remember, almost the entire New Testament was written in response to how the churches of regional demographics were acting.  We have totally ignored the fact that Satan and his demons sit in every church building waiting to cause trouble within that body and it is easy for them to accomplish this feat because we as the Church body are so divided we could not fight ourselves out of a wet paper bag.  Why is this?  It is because we have allowed ourselves to be watered down by the world enough to render us ineffective against the wiles of the devil.  Even if we had the capability to recognize each other's faults on a spiritual level we would have NO clue about how to properly deal with the situation.  You know what?  Living in this condition places us into the same category as those folks who sit in our pews each week and do absolutely nothing for Christ.

I can hear some people arguing with what has been stated so far, I can hear others searching their hearts to see if they have fallen into this category.  Tell me, which conversational piece from this article directly represents you?  There will be a time coming in a short while that going to church or freely and publicly proclaiming to be a Christian will not be the popular idea to follow or do.  Yes, there will be a revival soon but just like every other revival, it shall fade away because we will have failed to understand its purpose and meaning for our lives concerning the world.  It is also safe for me to say that it will be the ones who seem to have it all together that will lead us into the deadly abyss of life after a revival.  I ask again, who is more wicked?

Church, we have missed some things that have been right in front of our faces, for when you have people who have been going to church their entire lives but do not know the Truth concerning the Word of God, something is not right!  Another point God would like to bring to our attention is this: concerning our ministry outside the church building.  Where is it?  It is null and void, it is not there, nowhere to be found, gone and missing from sight.  Why is this?  Read the paragraphs above again and it should become clear to you, it is because we have allowed wickedness to infiltrate our lives as we claim to be Christians but not doing what Jesus commanded us to do.  How many young people that have been raised in the church actually go into full-time ministry these days?  Sadly, not many for when you ask almost every church leader today, they cannot find enough people willing to go into the ministry, they have no desire or burden for the world.

The point God is making to us today is that we need to focus on all of the wickedness around us, it does not matter if the person is the poster child for someone to be considered wicked or if they are a deacon that sits on the front row every Sunday.  As long as we fail to see such travesty occur, our spiritual battles will result in our defeat on a constant basis.  Jesus loves each and every person that walks this earth and it is our responsibility to see this need and to address it.  Our words and actions need to be penetrating enough to reach all who need Christ, especially the ones controlled by religious spirits.  It is our duty to be separated from the world at all times and to be open to God enough that we allow Him to examine even the deepest parts of our hearts and then to rid our hearts of any wicked thing we harbor.  By all means, God does not want wickedness to rule anyone or anywhere but it is imperative that we need to recognize exactly where the wickedness lies and spiritually combat it according to the Ways of God.

DLB