Starving for the Word

 I talked with a retired pastor friend of mine at great length yesterday. It did not take long before he brought up one of his favorite subjects. Preachers not preaching the whole word of God. We both have noticed over the years how preaching in many churches has changed. Pop psychology messages have replaced preaching the word of God. As one pastor put it, "Preaching is group therapy at our church." My friend then said, "People are starving for the word of God. Starving." 

How can this be? Multiple churches abound. We have more access to the Bible than we ever have with multiple translations not only available with hard copies, but also in the palm of our hand on cell phones and tablets. It is broadcast over the airways. How can people be starving for God's word in the United States. 

The prophet Amos prophesied of such a day. 

Amos 8:11-12 (NASB)
¹¹  "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.

We are living in such a day. Preachers proclaim the love of God without also preaching the judgment of God. Doctrine is cast aside in favor of practical self help messages. Feel good sermons abound while sermons on themes like repentance and holiness of living are neglected. Salvation messages are soft pedaled with the plea that Jesus will enhance your life. There is no call to come to Jesus and die to self in favor of living the crucified life. 

This past Sunday I preached a hard hitting message about spiritual warfare. A senior adult man met me at the door afterward. He has been visiting with us for some weeks. He stated, "I have visited churches all over Parker County and have not heard a hard message like that in any of them." He further explained how much he wanted to hear all of God's word even the hard parts. His comment saddened me. It did not surprise me. 

These are the times we are living in today. People starving to be fed the whole counsel of truth and yet only getting a portion of it. It is like only eating dessert at every meal and not getting meat and vegetables also. There is a famine in the land. 

The first time I read Amos' prophesy was in college in a Chuck Swindoll book. He taught about the age of great preaching of the past with Charles Spurgeon, Joseph Parker, Jonathan Edwards, A.W. Tozer, and Alexander McClaren just to name a few. People lined up to hear those men expound the Bible. They wanted the meat of the word. Those congregations did not and would not stand for fluff. 

In many churches that has changed today. Preachers bought into seeker sensitive, purpose driven, seeker friendly, and away from expository preaching. We are producing impotent church members who do not follow the Lord fully. Shame on us preachers. Shame on every one of us if we do not preach all the Bible. Shame on us if we preach to tickle the ears and not to change lives. Shame on us if we shy away from certain texts because they might offend. Shame on us and God help us when we stand at the judgment seat of Christ. We will occur a stricter judgment than others. 

In this crazy world, people are starving for truth. The whole worship experiences these days are centered around the music when centuries ago it was centered around the word of God.  People are moved emotionally by music, but they are not often challenged to deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Jesus. Not in every church. Thank God this kind of challenge still happens in some. I hope it happens where you gather. If not, shame on you for settling for less than all of God's word. Quit settling for milk when the meat of the word of God is what you need.