(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.) Alright, go ahead and turn up, open your Bibles to Proverbs chapter 20, Proverbs chapter 20, and let's pray real quick. Dear Lord, thank you for this day, thank you for this past year, Lord, I pray that you just fill me with boldness, fill me with your Holy Spirit, help me to get across what you'd like me to get across today, Lord, in Jesus' name I pray, amen. Alright, well today is New Year's Eve, and Proverbs 21, or 20 verse 1 is a very fitting verse for this day. Proverbs chapter 20 verse 1, wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging, and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise, and the title of my sermon is The Foolishness of Alcohol, The Foolishness of Alcohol. Like I said, today is New Year's Eve, and today is the number one day of the year for the most alcohol consumed in the entire year. If you look at the statistics of alcohol sales in the month of December, doubles or triples every other month of the year for alcohol sales. According to the National Institute of Health, 70% of American adults drink at least once a year, and if there's one day of the year where people are going to be drinking alcohol, it's going to be tonight on New Year's Eve. Not only that, 37% of teenagers are allowed to drink in front of their parents. That's not even including the teenagers who are hiding it from their parents who have no idea about it. So what does that tell me? That tells me that more than likely, over three quarters of our country is drinking themselves drunk tonight, excuse me. So like I said, more than likely, over three quarters of our country are drinking tonight, and tonight people's lives will be ruined because of alcohol. Oh, and also, just a fun fact, December 25th is the second highest day of alcohol consumption in the year, Christmas Day, so that's also really sad. So three ways tonight that people will ruin their lives by alcohol. Turn over to Proverbs chapter 23, just a page to your right. Proverbs chapter 23 verse 29, the Bible reads, who hath woe, who hath sorrow, who hath contentions, who hath babblings, who hath wounds without cause, who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine, they that go to seek mixed wine, look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth its color in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. And so number one, the first way people are going to ruin their lives tonight is hundreds of people are going to lose their lives tonight in a drunk driving accident. The Bible says, who has woe, who has sorrow, those that tarry long at the wine? And you know who has woe and who has sorrow tonight? Who could have more woe and more sorrow tonight than a wife whose husband never comes home from work because he dies by a drunk driver? Who could have more sorrow and who could have more woe than children whose parents never come home from their date night out because they're killed by some drunk on the road? Who could have more woe and more sorrow than their wife that never comes home from the grocery store because she's killed by some derelict drunk that gets behind the wheel of a car and kills her? You know, the Bible prescribes woe and sorrow to those that tarry long at the wine and that look at the wine. And that's why the Bible says, be not among them that are given the wine. Don't even be among them because woe and sorrow is not just prescribed to those who drink alcohol. Woe and sorrow is going to be to every single person who's around them because the sin of alcohol, the foolishness of alcohol will never just affect you. And you know, you think about those young kids whose parents die in a car crash. How long is that going to affect them? They're going to live as orphans the rest of their life. How long of a chain reaction is that going to cause? How much misery and woe and sorrow is that going to cause on someone's life because some idiot got behind a wheel and they decided to drink alcohol? Turn to Isaiah chapter 5, please. Isaiah chapter 5 verse 11, woe unto them that shall rise up early in the morning that they may follow strong drink that continue until night to wine and flame them. Woe unto them that call evil good, verse 20, woe unto them that call evil good and good evil that put darkness for light and light for darkness that put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes and prudent in their own sight. Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine and men of strength to mingle strong drink. You know what I say tonight? Woe unto the pathetic loser that would love to start and end their year by drinking alcohol. Woe unto the pathetic scum that would get behind the wheel of a car and risk other people's loved ones because you want to have a good time and you want to have a good time. It's not really a good time to destroy your vehicle. It's not really a good time to be maimed for life. It's not really a good time to die and especially not really a good time to kill innocent people. That's why the Bible says woe unto them. You know, Brother Aaron just preached Matthew 23 and we learned that woe is extreme warning. Woe is not a light word. Woe is a serious deal and the Bible says woe unto them that are around this kind of stuff. You know, it's a horrible sin and it doesn't say, you know, it doesn't say woe unto them that get drunk. It says woe unto them that look. You know, it says look not thou on the wine. You know what? And Christians should not be drinking moderately. Christians should not even be looking at alcohol. Not at all. Woe unto these derelicts next door. They're going to start their year drinking alcohol. You know how I want to start and end my year? By being right here in church. I like to start my year by preaching God's Word, by reading the Bible, by being around God's people, being around people that I love and by praying for God's blessing on my life for next year, praying that God will bless and let us continue to do God's work. You know, that's how I want to start my year. I don't want to start my year puking my guts out in a toilet, you know, around a bunch of filth. That's not how I want to start my year. I want to start my year doing the things of God. You know, but these losers out here, you know, these people around us on this block, you know, the sad thing is some of them aren't even going to make it to next year because some of them are going to die tonight. Some of them probably will die tonight on the drive home in a drunk driving accident. Some of them are going to die tonight in a hospital from alcohol poisoning. That's not how I want to start my year. Go to Proverbs chapter 23 again, Proverbs chapter 23. Proverbs chapter 23, look there again at verse 31. And my second point is people tonight will ruin their lives with fornication and adultery. Verse 31, look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth its color in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent and stingeth like an adder. Thine eyes shall behold strange women. Let's read that again. Thine eyes shall behold strange women. And hey, thine eyes shall behold strange women and thine heart shall utter perverse things. Yet thou shalt be like he that lieth down in the midst of the sea or as he that lieth upon the top of a mask. They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick. They have beaten me and I felt it not when I shall awake. I will seek it yet again. And you know tonight people are going to drink alcohol and everyone knows, listen up kids, everyone knows the first thing that goes when you drink alcohol is your judgment. And tonight people are going to betray the people they love, people are going to betray their husbands and their wives and the people that they promised to keep themselves only unto them so long as they shall live. They're going to betray that tonight because they're going to drink alcohol. Not all of them are going to go out planning to do it, but I'm telling you the Bible says thine eyes shall behold strange women and thine eyes shall utter perverse things. These are things that not might happen to you. They will happen to you if you play around with this stuff. You will ruin your life. You go out and you commit fornication. You think you're just going to have a fun night drinking alcohol. Next thing you know, you wake up in the morning and you now have an STD that's with you for the rest of your life. You now have a bastard child. Congratulations for your bastard child. Now you've betrayed those that you love and now you have God's wrath on your life too. So that's something you also get to look forward to. Not only that, there's all sorts of sexual sins that happens on New Year's Eve and when you drink. Why? Because you're around a bunch of drunks. Hey, ladies, listen up. You're around a bunch of drunks at a party, you might just get raped. Does that sound like fun? Because oh, you say, wow, how can you say that? That's reality. How many women get raped every year because of alcohol? Who knows? I don't even want to know. And then a chain reaction to that, after all the sexual perversion and sins have happened, what is a lot of people's answer to that? Abortion. All because of alcohol. The very root cause of this is alcohol. Turn to Genesis chapter 19. We get a really disgusting story in the Bible of what alcohol can do to your life. Genesis chapter 19. Let's see if this is the road you want to go down. Let's see if this is something you want to play around with. Genesis 19 verse 30, and Lot went up out of Zoar and dwelt in the mountain and his two daughters with him, for he feared to dwell in Zoar, and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters. So this is Lot's daughters. And the firstborn said unto the younger, our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth. Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. And you know what? It's a pretty good chance that your daughter's going to be ending up whores if you drink alcohol. So I would guess that Lot drank alcohol if he lived in Sodom, and what does the Bible call it? The vine of Sodom. So that's a great way to get your daughters to turn out to be total whores is to drink alcohol. Not only that, their plan was to get him drunk so that they can lay with their own father. And then it says there in verse 31, I'm sorry, verse 33, and they made their father drink wine that night, and the firstborn went in and laid with her father, and he perceived it not when she lay down nor when she arose. Is that where you want to be in your life? Where you don't even realize that your own daughter is doing this unto you? That's where alcohol is going to take you. Just imagine that for a second. It's disgusting. Not only that, like I said, the Bible calls alcohol the vine of Sodom. Turn to Habakkuk chapter 2, Habakkuk chapter 2, towards the end of the Old Testament. Habakkuk chapter 2 verse 15, the Bible says, woe unto him that giveth his neighbor drink that putteth thy bottle to him that makest him drunken also that thou mayest look on their nakedness. You know what's a great tool that sodomites, homosexuals, pedophiles use to prey on people? Alcohol. It's always been their MO. This has always been their game plan, and you don't want to be in a situation where you have your guard down, you have your inhibitions down so that some filthy faggot could take advantage of you because that's what happens. That's the reality of alcohol. It's not like the commercials you see on the television. This is the reality of alcohol. Abortion, rape, fornication, adultery, homosexuality, that's the reality of alcohol, and I want nothing to do with it. Hebrews chapter 13 verse 4 says, marriage is honorable in all and the bed undefiled but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. And you know, at the very least, if none of those happens to you, God will get you at some point in this life because, you know, God promised to chasten his children, and if you, as a child of God, go out and drink alcohol, he will chasten you. Number three, turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 6. First Corinthians chapter 6. My last point is that alcohol is ruining people's lives tonight by destroying their health. First Corinthians chapter 6, verse 19, the Bible reads what? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body, or in your spirit, which are God's. And I just wanna read to you, this is from National Institute of Health, most everyone's gonna know this in here, but especially kids, listen to what is just scientific facts of what is gonna happen to your body when you drink alcohol. You know, if the wrath of God isn't enough for you, then hopefully this will be too. You know, it lowers your brain's ability to function, it makes you an idiot, pretty much. It makes you completely stupid. It's hard enough in this world to stand against the devil and all that we have to stand up for when you're not drunk. How much the more when you ruin your brain by drinking alcohol? Number two, it affects your mood and behaviors. On your heart, it causes stretching and drooping of the heart, irregular heartbeat, stroke, high blood pressure. Your liver, it just basically causes your liver to stop working. Your liver isn't meant to process that much poison into your body and that's what alcohol does. Your liver to basically stop working causes your pancreas to produce toxins. It causes your pancreas to produce toxins into your body and your bloodstream, causing your blood vessels to swell. It causes cancer of the mouth, esophagus, throat, liver, breast. You're more likely to get cancer from drinking alcohol than you even are from chewing tobacco, from drinking alcohol. Weakens your immune system, causes you to get all sorts of other illnesses. It makes you fat. Man, it lowers your testosterone. It makes you fat. That's where the beer belly comes from. Okay, turn to Proverbs chapter 31. Proverbs chapter 31. Almost done here. Proverbs chapter 31. Look down there at verse number four. It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, nor princes, strong drink, lest they drink and forget the law and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted. You know what? Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. We're kings and priests through God and Christ Jesus. You know what? It's not for kings. It's not for us to drink alcohol. It's not for us to be given to wine. You know who it's for? It's for sodomites. You know who it's for? It's for rapists and people that have such a low regard of life that they'd get behind a wheel on New Year's Eve and kill people. You know who it's for? Derelicts, losers, idiots, scum. Those are the types of people that drink alcohol. It's not for kings, O Christian. It's not for priests, O Christian, to drink alcohol. And you know what? Maybe your parents, kids, maybe they drank alcohol because they didn't hear preaching like this or they weren't even saved and maybe they got away with it with very little effects on their life, but you will not be as lucky. You will get the full judgment of God in your life and you better be afraid of that, kids. You better never even look at alcohol. Never look at alcohol. Spend your New Year's Eve from now and from every year on with God's people, not doing this filth of the world. So let's pray. Dear Lord, thank you for this day. Thank you for this year, God. I just thank you that we're able to spend our New Year's with the joy of the Lord and that we don't have to find our joy by drinking alcohol and committing all sorts of filthy sins. God, I pray that next year you would just bestow your blessings upon us, God. I pray that you just fill the next preacher with your spirit and that you'd help none of us to ever drink alcohol in our lives. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.