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THE PRESENT SPIRITUAL CLIMATE
The Bible speaks of a time like ours: “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it,” (Amos 8:11-12). A famine or extreme scarcity of food is a terrible thing. A famine of the Word of God as described in the above quotation is worse because of its effects. Notice that the famine mentioned above is a famine for “hearing the words of the LORD.” The word of God can be purchased in stores and online for less than the cost of a meal. There are churches, organizations and individuals who will give Bibles to those who want them. The problem today in our country is not a scarcity of the Word of God. The problem today in our country is a scarcity of the preaching of the Word of God. It is one thing for a preacher to pick a text or subject and run with it. One fellow I knew said to a preacher after hearing him preach, “That was a good sermon that you preached, but it had nothing to do with the text.” It is possible to be selective in what is read and preached so that people are not offended, but neither are they helped. And in this day of success-orientation – by that is meant big numbers means success – most preachers and teachers only claim to preach the Word of God while actually they preach from it. Paul wrote that there are two aspects of the Word of God: the milk and the meat. “I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able,” (1 Corinthians 3:2). He wrote this to a church that was in the worst possible condition: they were living like unsaved people. By never being introduced to the “meat” of the Word they remain babies! Prepared baby food is the menu in most churches – if not downright error. One country preacher put it this way: milk is what you get from a cow: meat is the cow itself! People need to be fed the cow itself! Instead of depending on religious professionals to feed you spiritually, in such a time as we find ourselves the child of God must feed himself the Word of God. Read your Bibles! Take pen and paper in hand and study your Bibles! Make notes of repeated words and phrases. Use a concordance and a Bible dictionary to learn the meaning of Bible words! Don't be lazy! Pray asking God to cause you to understand the Bible! Meditate upon it! Feed yourself the Word of God and grow spiritually! |
