In the past few months, I have had a number of people ask me a question that I think is very revealing and troubling at the same time. They have asked: “Pastor, why have the preachers coming along today ceased to preach about the things happening in society? Preachers used to warn the people about events and happenings in order to keep them keen on what is going on around them in the world. But, in today’s church, as a general rule, those kinds of helpful things are not being mentioned. The people are not being guided as strongly as they used to be.” In days gone by, the pulpits of our churches were the main source of information for the people. Not only did the preachers keep their people informed, they warned them of things they might have seen coming and which would affect the lives of the people for years to come. The people depended on their preacher to let them know the deeper insights to things that were going on in society. They depended on the preachers in the pulpits of America to guide them through some treacherous waters. Without that guidance and instruction from the Word as to how to deal with things, the people are left rudderless in a sea of trouble.
The man in the pulpit should realize that his people want guidance on the things happening in the world around them. The question is: Why are the pulpits of America failing to keep their people aware of situations which will affect them and their families as well as their worship of God? One of the main reasons is that the preachers are afraid of the government because they have been warned that they will “lose their tax-exempt status” if they preach about politics in any way.
The government has made some ruling which they warn the preachers not to violate or there will be consequences. So, many avoid such topics as world events, politics and government because of fear of those consequences. The liberals of society realized that to keep the preachers silent, all they had to do was make a spiritual situation into a political one and many would be quiet on the issue at hand. The issue of abortion is a good one to make this point. Make it political and silence most of the pulpits on it. Scripture tells us that God’s prophets often spoke to moral and political situations in which their kings were involved. King David was soundly rebuked and condemned by the prophet, Nathan. And, he was not the only one to face down the kings of their time. I suggest you read Jeremiah. Listen to what Elijah said and observe what he did. Listen to his warnings to King Ahab and his wife Jezebel which came true. Jesus confronted the political situation of His day. The religious leaders of the day, the Pharisees which had enormous political power, were often confronted by the words of Jesus. Much of what is political is often rooted in a spiritual truth and therefore needs to be confronted with the truth of God’s Word. But, if the preacher is silent, the only word on the issue that the people will get will be from those who are trying to mislead them. It is a necessary thing for God’s men to warn and guide His people. In the Bible, God’s selected prophets were told to go to the people and warn them. They were ordained to stand before kings and governors and warn them about coming judgment unless they changed their direction. These prophets were often ignored, mistreated and killed but they did as God wanted them to do and said what He wanted them to say.
In our modern day, the same God is on the same throne of the universe. He changes not, as the scripture says. Society has changed but He has not. He has not adjusted His judgment just because society has become more and more liberal and disobedient. The same principles apply in our day as applied in the Biblical day in which His prophets lived. The warnings from the prophets of today as they preach God’s Word is essentially the same and they are doing what they do because God told them to do it. Personal gain, popularity and position are not in view but saying what God wants said is their major issue in life. Prophets in the modern day are not “future tellers” but they are those ordained of God to preach the Bible and teach the people the proper things so that they may survive and live a life pleasing to God.
God’s People have always needed to know proper doctrine and Biblical teachings. Too often the modern-day preachers are telling people things they already know even though they don’t practice them. Often, I hear a preacher basically giving a history lesson such as recounting the crossing of the Jordan and the entrance into the land God had given the Children of Israel. They recount the stones placed in the river. They recount the battle of Jericho and what the Israelites did in defeating that important city. Then, on to Ai where they were defeated by this small town after having just defeated Jericho. Disobedience brought defeat. And, so it goes on and on with the people listening to a recounting of something they can read in the Bible and have done so many times. Paul says in Hebrews that we should leave the elemental doctrines and go on to deeper realities of the Christian faith. But, people are starving for that something deeper and they are continuing to live in the shallow world of simplistic history lessons instead of learning how to live in the deeper water as Paul told us to do. Prophets who exposit the Word of God and teach the deeper realities of the Christian faith are in desperate need today. And, it is easy to spot someone who is a real prophet of God and someone who is “preaching” in a shallow way. The tragic thing is that these preachers think that they are really “shucking the corn” and that the people love them and what they do in the pulpit when in actuality the people are yearning for something deeper instead of platitudes which contain things that they have heard for years. The people are, generally speaking, starving for that deeper information and inspiration Paul was talking about in Hebrews. A preacher can rave and rant about the consumption of alcohol and its devastating effects but the people have heard that for years and years. He can preach with great enthusiasm when dealing with the situation with abortion, but here again, he tells the people nothing new for abortion has been a subject for a long time. The people have already heard all the preacher has to say on the subject. These are but two of the subjects that can produce loud, boisterous sermons which only state what the people have heard for years from various different preachers. They have heard about baptism and having faith and various other elemental doctrines but Paul says to go on to deeper things. Don’t keep on drinking the milk but move on to the meat of God’s revelation. Many men in the pulpit keep delivering milk which has been made into a frothy milk shake through the exhibitions of their personality and their personal antics. Now, everyone has a personality but it should be genuine. Anyone can spot a showman and the pulpit is not the place for anyone who turns into one when it comes time for the worship hour. God doesn’t need showmen. If I want to be entertained, I will select a venue, buy a ticket and be entertained. But, there is a time and a place for that and it is not in God’s House when his people have come together to hear their preacher expound the deeper verities of life from His Word. He called and ordained a person to preach the unsearchable truths of God to a lost and dying generation. Shallow preaching produces shallow Christians at best and entertains lost sinners at the worst who walk out the doors of the church just as lost as when they came in but thinking all along that they are saved because they went to church.
I realize that I am expressing rather harsh realities but it is high time for Christians to stop all this fooling around with every new thing and concentrate on what is really important: Glorifying God and winning the lost as well as edifying the Saints which will produce mature, meat-eating Church members who know the difference between a God-called preacher and a self-centered entertainer who thinks entertainment is the same thing as preaching the unsearchable mysteries of God. He is really insulting his people in that he displays the opinion that the people are as shallow as he is and that they are not smart enough to discern what is going on.
A preacher should be who he is naturally. That’s who God called and gifted to preach the word. He will use God’s man as He sees fit when that man lets God do the growing of the church. Jesus said: “I will build my church.” Man can’t do it. Only God can and we must have the God-called prophets who are devoted to Him and what he wants instead of what man wants. We have enough man-called preachers and man-built churches and that is the main reason that the church of today is so weak. God will enable a man to do His Work and he doesn’t need the man’s help doing it. All He wants is an obedient man. He will take that man and make him into what God wants him to be.
Prophets like the men of old and of days gone by are what is in desperate need in today’s church. God’s word and message to human beings properly delivered to His People will make the difference in today’s world and we desperately need that. Our survival is dependent on it. Yes, our Critical Need is for Modern-Day Prophets. Christian people should be bent on their knees asking for God to give them a new dispensation of Modern-Day Prophets.
