Unapologetic Preaching

Going Vertical Series

Preaching Portion: Amos 8:11-13

Subject: Israel

Theme: The Inaccessibility of God

INTRO: Preaching the authority of God’s Word without apology, in the power of the Holy Spirit, brings glory down in the church.

·      With the recent statistics reporting that 6,000 churches die each year in America, can I just say that churches do not die, God’s voice in them dies!

·      Paul would say it this way; “And I, when I came to you brothers, did not some proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God” [1 Cor. 2:1-5]

·      So what is preaching?

o   The Greco-Roman world “kerysso” described a person of the royal court commissioned by the ruler to get out the message with a strong and resonant voice.[1]

o   In classical Greek culture the emphasis was placed more on the messenger himself (keryx used 3x in the New Testament)

o   A careful review of terms you realize that the “kerussein” - “to preach” is more important than the preacher. [2] Therefore, we would declare that preaching is much less about the person or place it happens and more about God wanting his message proclaimed. Allow the Bible to illustrate this fact for us.

§  “From time to time Jesus began to preach” – Matthew 4:17

§  “And as you go, preach” – Matthew 10:7

§  “And He appointed twelve, so…He could send them out to preach.” – Mark 3:14

§  “And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach’’ – Mark 16:15

o   It would be safe to say that preaching is God’s truth communicated through personality.

o   Martin Lloyd-Jones stated it this way; “Preaching is theology coming through a man who is on fire…a man who can speak dispassionately has no right whatsoever to be in a pulpit and should not be allowed to enter one.”[3]

·      Without this basic understanding that the message is more important than the one preaching we will drift in faith and hope. If these words are not heeded a preacher may be lead to believe that God will bless his “pyscho-babble,” “philoso-babble,” and “scoio-babble.” Yes all truth is God’s truth, but not all truth is God’s Word.

·      The power of the Word is desperately needed in the pulpits of American churches, in Frankfort, Kentucky, in New Harvest Assembly of God. The congregation in the pew hears not only their pastor, but their God as well. So if the preacher is not bringing the word of God, then what are the people hearing about God?

Explanation

·      Amos wrote to Israel to warn of pending destruction. In Amos chapter eight foretells of a fourfold judgment. He declares:

o   Sinners – there will be dead bodies scattered, singing will turn to mourning

o   Soil – the land will rise and fall like the Nile River

o   Skies – the sun will go down at noon

o   Scriptures – there will be a famine of the Word of God

·      Yes, you heard that last point correctly – God will initiate a “famine of God’s Word.” God will be inaccessible!

·      The first three judgments listed are bad enough yet no word from God? We are reminded of Deuteronomy 8:3; “And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna…that he might make you to know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”

·      Does the preacher matter more or does the message of the preacher matter more?

·      It is time for a hard long view of where we are as community influencers of the gospel. Preaching is not about winning the popular votes so that we can exist for another week. This is about eternal issues that require a different thought pattern and way of behaving.

PROP: Every God called minister is to be a preacher of the Word and every church is to be a Word centered congregation.

T.S: Every God called minister and every congregation must heed the warning from Amos 8:11-14 to see what happens when the Word fails in the House of God.

1.     God Induced Famine – Amos 8:11

a.     “Behold the days are coming, declares the Lord God, when I will send a famine on the land – not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord.”

b.     Famine belonged to a list of sanctions that God used against Israel because of their unfaithfulness. God was the causative agent in 4:6-8 in an effort for Israel to return back to Himself. They would not return, so now God is going to send a greater famine upon the people. A famine of the word of God!

                                               i.     Clearly we are drawn to the words of Deuteronomy 8:3; “…man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord,…”

c.      Churches do not die. God’s voice in them dies! Therefore, if the man of God in the pulpit is not imparting the Word of God passionately [not theatrically] then he is not preaching. Preaching is theology coming through a man who is on fire!

                                               i.     God gives not assurances to bless my gleanings from “pyscho-babble,” philoso-babble,” or “socio-babble.”

                                              ii.     If you take away all of the jokes, poetry, and polling data, would there be enough of the Word remaining to justify a sermon?

                                            iii.     God’s voice will not be heard in church if we are not preaching the Bible.

                                            iv.     Loyalty to the audiences’ sensitivities do not supersede loyalty to the Word of God

2.     Self Inflicted Famine – Amos 8:13

a.     “In that day the lovely virgins and the young men shall faint for thirst…”

                                               i.     The virgins and young men are representatives of those who should be able to withstand difficult times. But even they will be over-come by the extent of the judgments, which a famine of the word was part.

b.     The pressure of our time motivates people to search for answers in unconventional places. There is an openness to spiritual things more so now than in recent times. Are we self-inflicting a famine of the Word of God upon our churches?

c.      In preparation to sending out the seventy-two to preach the gospel I the harvest fields that were ready, Jesus says something remarkable in Luke 10:16; “The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects the one who sent me.”

                                               i.     Preaching is a pathway for people to actually hear God speaking. “God is present in preaching, indeed God himself speaks his Word in the church’s proclamation and gives utterance to his voice in the voice of the preacher.”[4]

                                              ii.     Notice how this truth is fleshed out in the twelve disciples when Christ stated; “What you are to say will be given to in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you” [Matthew 10:19-20].

                                            iii.     Paul writing in 1 Thessalonians 2:13; “When you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God.”

1.     Yes it was Paul’s mouth moving, but the church embraced what they heard at a deeper level; God’s Word, God speaking, God’s glory revealed, God’s voice heard!

d.     So what is at stake if the Word of God does not come from the pulpit powerfully and passionately? Churches die because the voice of God dies in the hearts of attendees! If God’s word is not coming from the pulpit, then the church runs the risk of becoming secular with nothing more than horizontal feel-good experiences.

CONCULSION

·      So that we do not run the risk of self-inflicting a famine of the Word of God upon our church let us begin with understanding that sermons are about the “WHO” and not the preacher. Let us pray over the pastor and the pulpit.

·      Secondly, let us pray that we allow the voice of God to be heard through the preacher!

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[1] Walter Bauer, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3^rd ed., ed. Fredrick W. Danker (Chicago: University of Chicago 2000) 543.

[2] Fredrick “keryx,” TDNT, 3:696.

[3] Martin Lloyd-Jones, Preaching and Preachers (Grand Rapids: Zondervan 1971) 97.

[4] James Daane, Preaching With Confidence: A Theological Essay on the Power of the Pulpit [Eugene: Wipf & Stock, 2001] 8.

Unashamed Adoration

Unashamed Adoration: Who Is Getting The Glory?

Going Vertical Series

Preaching Passage: Selected Scripture

Subject: Praise

Theme: Unashamed and unhindered Praise and Adoration

INTRO: The modern church experience is designed to be palatable because we have lost the ability to be powerful!

·      So much of the worship experience is designed to entertain instead of impacting broken lives that need an answer for their dilemma.

·      What would happen if we returned church services back to a “white-hot” experience where God is actually active and doing something?

·      We are mot looking for a few excited people on the front row so that everyone on the back row and talk them. New Harvest Assembly of God seeks to have a room filled with “white-hot” worshippers that engage in unceasing praise.

·      We need to turn a corner right and right now – stop having worship that is nothing more than a “Shoulders-up” experience! God-knowledge is important! But it is time to for you to allow a “God-experience” to come upon you as Hosea declared; “…let us press on to know the Lord; his going out is as sure as the dawn, he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth” [Hosea 6:3 ESV].

·      Praise is not just performing for him, but it is the Lord leaning into the experience to love us back and manifest his glory among. Worshipping the Almighty without emotion should be as repulsive as a passionless interaction between significant human beings.

o   My wife does not want a formula from me – she wants my passion for her.

·      The fact that you and I are made in His image is not what moves God. God is moved when his creation starts engaging him passionately and with heart-emotions – loving Him and Him loving us back with manifest glory!

Explanation

·      Hosea 6:3 “Let us know, let us press on to know the Lord; his going out is as sure as the dawn, he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.”

o   Notice two perspectives in this one verse: (1) note the repeating of “know.” (2) The Lord’s coming to us is as sure as the dawning of light piercing the darkness and as the coming of rain.

o   The contextual point for Hosea was to call the nation to repentance. The good news that the Lord’s return to them – manifested glory returning – was sure as the dawn and spring rain.

·      In the context of realizing that we are in a situation that we cannot fix and cannot change we have confidence in God’s glory coming down to do what we cannot do and fix what we have messed up.

·      Let us use Hosea’s message as a springboard to return to unashamed adoration that consists of four realities that we will explore in selected scripture.

1.     Reality #1 – Go Vertical – Psalm 96:1-6

a.     “Sing to the Lord…” is repeated three times in two verses. Becoming a vertical church that allows the manifested glory of God to become front and center requires that we learn to start singing “to the Lord” instead of singing about the Lord.

                                               i.     Don’t send me hate emails about great songs that testify about the goodness of the Lord

                                              ii.     My point is in reaching for the manifested glory of God is to sing to the audience of one –sing to Him!

b.     Singing about someone assumes they are not present even though they just walked into the room. We greet the one who we were just discussing. We don’t ignore their presence by talking past them –we now speak to them.

c.      When we come to church we come to speak to the one who can transform. We have that confidence because he will come as surely as the dawn of light from a dark night and as fresh spring rain that brings back to life.

2.     Reality #2 – Simple – Isa 6:3; Revelation 4:11; 5:13

a.     “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory;” “Worthy are, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power;” “To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”

b.     The power of these verses lie within their simplicity. I believe that the God of the vertical church has a worship preference – SIMPLE! I know there are great songs filled with awesome theology. Yes I love those songs. But can we be honest with ourselves for just a moment. In the brokenness of your need deep theological songs is not what you gravitate too.

c.      I do not know if God prefers classical over hip-hop. Surely He would have let us know. The heart’s cry for help is not complex – it is nothing more than Oh God help me!

3.     Reality #3 – Emotive – Psalm 136

a.     “His love endures forever…” is repeated 26 times. There is something to be said about “spirit worship” – worship that stirs the soul!

b.     When you worship intellectually you can choose to check out. But when emotional expressions are brought into the picture, the whole person is drawn into the moment. The Lord is not just leaning back and enjoying the moment – but He is leaning into the moment as though He draws near to us.

c.      Understand that passionless/emotionless engagement with God is repulsive. You do not love your spouse from the neck up – you love your mate with the total person. We are not serving a “neck-up” type of God. God is not looking or a formula, he is looking for total emotional involvement.

4.     Reality #4 – Physical – Selected Scriptures

a.     The biblical injunction to love the Lord your God with all your strength requires more than formulas.

b.     VOICE: “I love the Lord, because he hears me” [Psa 116:1]. This means that David raised his voice and used volume in communicating with the Lord. Psalm 78:23; “My lips shout for joy, when I sing praises to you.”

c.      EYES: “TO you I lift my eyes, O you who are enthroned in the heavens” [Psa. 123:1]

d.     HEAD: “But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head” [Psa. 3:3]

e.     HANDS: “Clap your hands all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy!” [Psa. 47:1]

f.      LEGS: “Come let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker!” [Psa. 95:6]

g.     FEET: 2 Samuel 6:14 – David danced

CONCLUSION

·      What is that you need God to do? Start Directing your praise and your conversation to Him, not past Him as though he is not present.

·      Direct your praise to Him!

·      Get totally involved – Go Vertical, Keep it Simple, Get Emotionally involved, and Get Physical

He Has Got The I.Q. of A Rabbit!

He’s Got The I.Q. of A Rabbit

It’s a Wonderful Life opens with a scene that is easily overlooked. High up in the heavens are two angels, Joseph and Franklin. They are discussing who should be sent to earth to salvage the life of George Bailey. The suggestion is to send Clarence. Joseph declares; “He’s got the I.Q. of rabbit.” Franklin responds; “Yes, but he’s got the faith of a child – simple!”

Matthew 19:14 gives us insight from Christ’s perspective on children. The disciples were rebuking those for having brought their children to Jesus as though they were a hindrance.  Jesus rebukes the disciples by stating they should allow the little children to come to Him because the Kingdom of God belongs to those who possess their qualities. Jesus was BIG on children! Franklin saw something in Clarence and defends him as the obvious choice for George Bailey’s need.

Think with me for a moment, as children they are not sophisticated, they are real and humble. They are unpretentious and adventurous, lighthearted and imaginative. Oswald Chambers would coined a phrase, “reckless joy[1].” Perhaps this phrase can express the unpolished juvenile approach to life through the eyes of children. We GROW UP and become jaded by our world and we begin to rationalize our behaviors, we become pretentious.

In simplicity, Clarence believes in George Bailey. Perhaps director Frank Capra’s selection of Clarence enforces for us God’s choice of foolish things in the world to shame the wise, choosing the weak things to shame the strong (1 Corinthians 12:7). God chose David a shepherd boy, Moses who stuttered, and Rahab the prostitute. Is it possible for Christ to also use imperfect creatures like you and I?

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[1] Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest (Uhrishville: Barbour 2000) 62