WHY DO SINNERS FLOURISH?
MEMORISE: When the wicked spring as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; it is that they shall be destroyed for ever.
Psalm 92:7
READ: Psalm 37:1-11
1 Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.
2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.
3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
4 Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
5 Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
6 And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.
7 Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.
8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.
9 For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.
10 For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.
11 But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
MESSAGES
Many people keep wondering why sinners are flourishing while some believers, don’t have enough. Well, one of the reasons is that the devil is preparing those sinners as rams for the slaughter, as we see in today's memory verse.
What the devil does is to give something worth an amount of money, say 1 million dollars, to his victims and then take something that money cannot buy from them. The 1 million dollars will seem like a lot, but when they compare it to what he took from them, they would then realise that they have been stolen from, killed and destroyed. That is the mission statement of the devil as revealed to us by Jesus Christ in John 10:10. Thus, when it appears as if a wicked person is prospering from his or her wickedness, don't envy their wealth; the reason the devil is prospering them is so that he can destroy them forever.
Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof…. Ecclestiates 7:8
When someone gets wealth from the devil, he would only enjoy it for a while and at the end of the day, end up destroyed. When that end comes, you see the fellow preferring to let go of all the riches and embrace Christ. Such a person becomes sorrowful and all the money would mean nothing once the fellow realises that he or she is heading for destruction. That is why Psalm 37:16 says: "A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked".
It is better to have only a little and end up in heaven than to gain the whole world and lose your soul. In any case, God said His wish for you is that you prosper (3 John 2). Even as your soul prospers, so don't go into sin because you want to prosper; God already has prosperity in store for you in the salvation package. You, however, need to live holy. He said in Deuteronomy 28:1-2 that if you hearken diligently to His word, He will set you on high above the nations of the earth. He said blessings will pursue and overtake me. That is the kind of blessing I like: the one that will pursue and overtake me, while at the end of the day, I would still end up in heaven. That is the kind of prosperity I like, not that of the wicked.
KEY POINT:
The devil prospers the wicked so as to destroy them later.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Jeremiah 51- 52
HYMN 2: CONQUERORS AND OVECOMERS NOW ARE WE
1 Conquerors And Overcomers Now Are We,
Through The Precious Blood Of Christ We’ve Victory
If The Lord Be For Us We Can Never Fail,
Nothing Against His Mighty Power Can Ever Prevail.
(Refrain)
Conquerors Are We, Through The Blood Of Jesus
God Will Give Us Victory, Through The Blood Of Jesus
Through The Lamb For Sinners Slain,
Yet Who Lives And Reigns Again,
More Than Conquerors Are We,
More Than Conquerors Are We.
2 In The Name Of Israel’s God We’ll Onward Press,
Overcoming Sin And All Unrighteousness;
Not To Us But Unto Him The Praise Shall Be,
For Salvation And For Blood Bought Victory. (Refrain)
3 Unto Him That Overcome Shall Be Given,
Here To Eat Of Hidden Manna Sent From Heaven,
Over Yonder He The Victors Palm Shall Bear,
And A Robe Of White, And Golden Crown Shall Wear. (Refrain)
