ALCOHOL
Poison of Perdition
* Preached by Pastor Kevin Burden at Carter Creek Baptist
Church ~ Sunday PM, August 12th, 2007
Proverbs 23:29-35 “Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath
contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness
of eyes? 30 They that tarry long at
the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. 31
Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the
cup, when it moveth itself aright. 32
At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. 33 Thine eyes shall behold strange
women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things. 34 Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the
sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast. 35 They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they
have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet
again.”
Introduction: We have a drug problem
in the U.S. We could talk about:
cocaine, marijuana, meth, or heroine. America’s #1 problem drug is
not any of these illegal substances, but a legal drug called ALCOHOL.
Alcohol on College Campuses: A campus rape is reported every 21 hours, which
translates into 6,000 rapes each year nation wide. Alcohol is implicated in 90%
of all campus rapes. Sixty percent of all college women diagnosed with a
sexually transmitted disease were drunk at the time they were infected. More
than 1,700 college students in the U.S. are killed each year as a result of
alcohol-related injuries.
Alcohol & Teens: Alcohol
is a leading cause of death among teenagers. It contributes substantially to
teenage automobile accidents, traumatic injuries, suicide, date rape, and
family and school problems. Every day more than 11,000 American youth between
the age of 12 to 20 try alcohol for the first time. Alcohol is the most used
and abused drug among America’s teenagers. According to a national survey,
nearly one third of all high school students reported participating in
hazardous drinking (5+ drinks in one setting). Young people who begin drinking before age 15 are four times more
likely to develop alcoholism.
1. Most
death – Alcohol causes more deaths
than any other drug. Over 55% of highway deaths are alcohol related. It causes
heart, liver and kidney disease, and deadly addictions.
2. Most
addiction – There are over 17 million
alcoholics in America today. They, by far, outnumber the addicts of any other
drug.
3. Most
misery – Think of the death, disability,
psychosis, addiction. It produces more misery than any other drug on earth.
While it is the most dangerous drug in the world,
there is no warning label on the bottle! Each container should read –
#1 Producer
of death.
#1
Producer of addiction.
#1
Producer of misery (divorce,
crime, poverty)
#1. HOW ALCOHOL ATTRACTS.
Medicinally: Some abuse alcohol as a medicine.
1 Timothy
5:23 “Drink no longer water, but
use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities.”
Proverbs
31:6 “Give strong drink unto him
that is ready to perish,…”
Moderately: Some think it’s okay to drink in moderation.
Proverbs
20:1 “Wine is a mocker, strong
drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.”
Mentally: Some drink to temporarily escape real life.
Proverbs
31:6-7 “Give strong drink unto him
that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts. 7 Let him drink, and forget his
poverty, and remember his misery no more.
Ministerially: Some think
Jesus condoned drinking in John
2:1-12. HE DID
NOT!! Read John
2:10; the ruler of the feast said, “Every man at the beginning doth set
forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is
worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now.”
Good
KJV = better, fair, good, honest, meet, well, worthy.
Consider Habakkuk
2:15 “Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle
to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!”
Had Jesus
turned water into an intoxicating “adult beverage” He would have violated His
fathers command; Led men into sin; and died in vain on the cross as a lying
lunatic.
#2. HOW
ALCOHOL ATTACKS. When it comes to misery alcohol scores a perfect 10. Examine Proverbs
23:29-35.
Alcohol Destroys With Sorrow (v 29). “who hath sorrow?”
I cannot
begin to tell you the sorrow and misery I’ve seen in people resulting from
alcohol.
I’ve seen it ruin marriages and cause divorce.
I’ve seen it turn teens into rebels who ruin their
lives.
I’ve seen it turn gentle men into wife-beaters and
murders.
I’ve seen it cause children to be deprived of the
necessities of life.
I’ve seen it send people to an early grave.
I’ve seen these things occur time and
time again and I’ve developed a genuine hatred for the “adult beverage” of
alcohol!
Alcohol
Destroys With Contention (v 29) “who
hath contentions?”
Alcohol is a recipe for fighting, divorce,
violence, rape, murder?
Want to drive a wedge between husband & wife,
parent & child, close friends? –
Social drinking is a great place to start!
Alcohol
Destroys With Foolishness (v 29).
“who hath babblings”
The one who’s usually quiet and reserved is transformed
into an idiot running around the room with a lampshade on their head!
Shakespeare
said, “O that men would put an
enemy in their mouths, to steal their brains away.”
A man
once told a friend, “I drink
vodka, so you can’t smell it on my breath.” His friend replied, “maybe you should switch to something they CAN
smell; it’s better for them to know you’re drunk, than think you’re stupid.”
Alcohol
Destroys With Injury (v 29). “who
hath wounds without cause?”
Alcohol kills over 200,000 Americans every year.
More than 400 Americans will die this week in alcohol-related car accidents…
many of them innocent victims of drunk drivers.
Alcohol
Destroys With Mental Anguish (v 29). “redness of eyes”
Many people drink to find happiness and in the end
it’s the one thing they have the least of!
Alcohol
Destroys With Health Failure (v 32). “At
the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.”
Why do people drink alcohol and then vomit? Because
their stomach has more sense than their head! Their body rejects the poison.
That’s why we call it “intoxication.” It’s a toxin!
Alcohol
Destroys With Immorality (v 33). “Thine
eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things.”
Alcohol breaks down godly inhibitions and moral restraint.
Even the world knows it and jest, “candy is dandy but liquor is quicker!”
Alcohol Destroys With Instability (v
34). “Yea, thou shalt be as he
that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a
mast.”
A
drunk can’t walk straight, talk straight, or think straight…and yet TV
commercials call him “the man of distinction.”
Alcohol Destroys With Insensibility (v
35). “They have stricken me, shalt
thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not:”
His
sensibilities are deadened.
Alcohol Destroys With Addiction (v 35).
“when shall I awake? I will seek
it yet again.”
Chinese
proverb, “first the man takes a drink, then the drink takes a drink, and then
the drink takes the man.”
CONCLUSION: I want everyone here to
understand that the Bible teaches total abstinence when it comes to alcohol.
Proverbs 20:1 “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived
thereby is not wise.”
