We are still at the very dawn of the New Year. In one sense the beginning of another year is simply another day, but yet January 1st is a marker of the clock that is ticking on each one of us. What is the state or status of the well-being of the Church? What is the state of the well-being of each church? Jesus has promised that the gates of hell shall not prevail or overpower His Church. That is of great comfort and encouragement in one sense, but in another it should sober us and make us more vigilant over the churches and the people in those churches. That text also tells us that the church is under constant attack. Are those things real to us when we are thinking of how to start or grow a church? We are in a war like it or not. A simple denouncement of the devil does no good at all. If we have no idea that we are in a war and are simply in a numbers war or a theological war, we are being beaten.
The people that the churches consist of are being attacked with various tactics and weapons. Do the leaders ever really think of that? Could it be that the churches are in bad shape because we have forgotten we are in a war with an enemy that is far smarter and far more powerful than we are? Why are people so immune to the things of God today? Why is it that people are so uncommitted to a church and virtually anything but themselves? Why is it that the people who love the things of God are so few and far between? Have we considered the fact that one real issue is that we have forgotten (for all intents and purposes) that we are in a war? Ephesians 6:12 should set us straight: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
Lest we forget the context of this text, it is in the context of the church. This text speaks to both individuals but also the church. The pronouns in verses 11 (you) and 12 (our) are plural. The church is at war. The real struggle of the church is not with the government and not with all the things it deals with, but it is directly with the evil one and the powers and forces of darkness. Those are spiritual forces. Why do we not see that the battle is primarily spiritual? It is because we are so focused on physical things ourselves.
As we look around we should be startled. But the horrible state of the Church is so usual that we hardly even notice our desperate state. The words that Christ spoke to the churches in Revelation should awaken us from our spiritual slumbers. The teachings of the Word of God on spiritual famine should snap us to attention except that we are so drunk with the things of the world and success in non-spiritual things (though it may have to do with the church in name) that we hardly notice what is going on. The Conservative Resurgence has come and gone and we are still in a deep slumber. Reformed groups are started and we are still in a deep spiritual slumber. The United States has all the appearances of a great nation that is going straight down, yet the once mighty Church slumbers away sleepily nodding at anything as long as it promotes numerical or financial success.
As we have heard from conservatives in the political realm for so long, we must learn not to lean on the government. We have to learn not to wait on the government for help but look in other directions. Such is the same for the local church and associations of churches. They have to look to other places rather than denominational headquarters for help in this battle. They must begin to go directly to the real source and that is God. In a fight with a spiritual enemy, there is only one place for help against onslaughts like this. It matters little if all the political and denominational big shots line up on your side; they are nothing against the evil one. Each church and each person must begin to seek the Lord. We must have broken hearts or all else will be broken.
Jesus spoke searing words to those who were heretical and those who were lukewarm. He spoke words that should raise the hairs on the back of our necks, but we are so lukewarm that we hardly even yawn when we read those words. Why is that? Most likely it is because we think of those words as belonging to the Methodists or the Presbyterians. Maybe we think it belongs to some sluggard in another town. I think that the Word of God is speaking to virtually every person and every church (if not every) in the United States of America. Where are the churches that have true prayer meetings where God is sought for Himself and nothing else? Where are those that are given to prayer from the heart instead of prayer that comes from the lips alone?
The United States is in the midst of a famine and that includes Southern Baptists. We are starving to death while running around trying to be busy and look good to others and ourselves. We think that if we can be winsome or gracious enough or theologically linked enough that things will change. Let me be blunt and straight to the point. You could join professing Reformed Southern Baptists and those who are not Reformed Southern Baptists at the hip and nothing would change. We are in a spiritual famine and nothing will change unless God comes down and revives His people. A person’s theology matters little if the heart does not have a flame for God in it. Theology should show who the true God is and move us to love God. But it is nothing but history and philosophy unless the wood is set on fire by the Spirit. The recent conference on building bridges should make us cry out for revival. Aside from my belief that historical Reformed theology was not set out, it shows how stale academic papers can be. Where is God in our day? The churches are dying regardless of how they appear and almost regardless of their theological convictions. We must have a true heaven-sent revival and we must have it soon.
Listen from your heart to this text from Amos 8: “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord GOD, “When I will send a famine on the land, Not a famine for bread or a thirst for water, But rather for hearing the words of the LORD. 12 “People will stagger from sea to sea And from the north even to the east; They will go to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, But they will not find it.” One way that God sends judgment on a church, denomination and nation is by sending a spiritual famine upon them. It is beyond me how anyone could deny that Christianity in general, the SBC and our nation is presently suffering from this. We are in a spiritual famine while many are very busy. Amos 8 describes the Church and our nation as a whole. Who is there who hears the words of the Lord in our day? Who is there who speaks the Word of God with true conviction and power in our day? Why is that true? Is it because we are not as smart as they used to be or is it because we are lukewarm and in a famine? It is not that we don’t have enough church buildings or enough Bibles and books. But what we lack is exactly what the text tells us will happen and that is a lack of “hearing the words of the LORD.”
We live in day that should remind us of New Testament times. In that day there were the Pharisees and the scribes. A lawyer was one that specialized in the law of God. The people depended on the Pharisees and scribes to tell them what the Bible said. In our day the people depend on scholars to tell them what the Bible means. Does this mean that scholarship is in and of itself is wrong? No, not as long as we understand that it is the Spirit alone who can give us the spiritual understanding of the text. When preachers get their understanding from the scholars instead of from God Himself, the land will be headed for famine quickly because no one will be hearing the words of the Lord. The scholar can only write about the words of the text, but the Spirit can give the meaning that is from the Lord alone. The Spirit can teach us the mind of God and give true spiritual wisdom and understanding (Col 1:9). The historian and the biblical scholar cannot do this. We must learn to spend time with God.
I Corinthians 2: “10 For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. 11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, 13 which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. 14 But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.”
Until we seek the Lord for true understanding of spiritual things, we will not know the Lord nor understand the Word of the Lord. We are in a spiritual famine of hearing and understanding the words of the Lord. There is no program that will help this. We are utterly dependant on God alone for this. When people are too busy to pray to learn to truly pray, they will continue in the famine in the midst of much activity. If we will not to seek the Lord for repentance from lukewarmness, we will be spittle of the Lord. If we will not cry to God for understanding in our study of the Word, we will preach without the Holy Spirit and power. But let us never forget that God alone can draw us to Himself. It is possible to try to seek the Lord as a method or for other reasons than Himself. That is nothing but idolatry. God’s people must be broken from their own efforts and worth to seek the Lord for Himself. As II Chronicles 7:14 teaches us, we must be humbled in order to pray. We must be humbled in order to pray and then to seek the face of the Lord. We must then turn from our evil ways. Without true humility and prayer from the heart for God Himself, the famine will continue. But it is God who must work these things in our heart or they will be just more religious activity. Will you seek the Lord for a broken heart in order to seek Him? Will you begin to seek the Lord rather than things? If you don’t truly desire to do those things, you are in great danger. By definition you are lukewarm if you don’t have the fire of God in your soul. Seek repentance.
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