Hunger for the Word
The following article comes from Pastor Austin Gardner’s blog and expresses a real problem that continues to persist in our day.
Amos 8:11 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:
I believe that today there is a famine in the land. I believe that it is a famine of hearing the Bible preached. I believe that most men preach about the Bible but few preach what the Bible says.
I believe that too often men go to the Bible to find a verse that says what their people need when the Bible rightly preached will deal with just that.
I believe that we are so results oriented that we must preach what will bring men to a decision about what we want rather than willing for God the Holy Spirit to change them in His own time.
We search out verses, stretch them, take them out of context and leave little of the original intent that God had for the verse to cause people to do what we want done!
I am afraid that we use the Bible instead of allowing the Bible to use us. I am afraid that our people go an entire lifetime and never hear most of the Bible.
We have favorite doctrines to prove, favorite preferences to enforce, favorite needs to be met so we do not preach the Bible.
My other fear is how someone could preach the Bible with no application. I do not understand how anyone could preach the New Testament verse by verse without seeing God start a missionary movement in their church.
We must give them the Bible. Make it applicable to their hearts and lives! But most of all, give them the Bible. All of the Bible must be given to them!