Galatians 6:7-8
A Christian who loves the Lord wants his pastor to faithfully and accurately proclaim the Scriptures. Last week we looked at a famine in the pulpit. We can say because there is a famine in the pulpit there is also a famine in the people. Galatians 6:7-8. Don't be a deceived people, or you will end up being a destroyed people.
2). Famine in the people.
Famine - want; destitution; as a famine of the word of life. This means the people are not possessing and do not have the Word of God. "Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land," Hosea 4:1. Some of the results of a famine of the Word of God in the people are; chaos, confusion, corruption, compromise, and every evil work. Sin will be abounding all around and it will be affecting every family when there is a famine of the Word of God. "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.
These people are looking for the preached Word; they are going all over trying to find someone proclaiming the truth: but they can't find anyone! They are finding opinions and traditions of men, but not the Word of God. We see this more and more here in America today. There is a famine of the Word of God. We desperately need men who will stand in the pulpit and without apologizing proclaim God's Word as it is God's Word. "Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word," Psalm 119:9.
"Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee," Psalm 119:11. "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word," Ephesians 5:25, 26. This is not a baptismal passage; these verses are clearly pointing out the Word of God in the sanctification process. The Word is the cleansing agent. "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth," John 17:17. When the truth is not being given, people will feed on whatever they can find. When our intake is unhealthy, we will be unhealthy. A famine of the Word of God hurts everyone. When the Word is boldly preached even those who are not believers are affected by it.
A famine will cause people to do crazy, unmoral, unthinkable things. The longer the famine the worse the people become. Let's look at a Biblical example. Turn to II Kings 6:24-30. It didn't bother this lady to eat her own son, but it made her mad that the other lady wouldn't eat her son. We see the reaction of the king in verse 30; the reaction of "what is this world coming to?" We see here a lady killing her baby without blinking an eye. It didn't bother her. This use to be unthinkable, yet America is doing this every day by the thousands! People are killing their babies in the name of convenience. Judgment from God is not coming to America, it is already here. God hath given us leaders we deserve. What our fathers and grandfathers fought against in WWII is the very thing that is taking over the United States of America today.
Oh, how this grieves my heart! And yes, this affects every family. A famine in the pulpit results in a famine in the people which spreads throughout the land. Sin abounds. "By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood. Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away. Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another: for thy people are as they that strive with the priest. Therefore shalt thou fall in the day, and the prophet also shall fall with thee in the night, and I will destroy thy mother," Hosea 4:2-5. Look at verse 5b, "And I will destroy thy mother". This is speaking of the mother nation. Sin had abounded to the point where God is going to destroy the nation. "The wicked shall be turned unto hell, and all the nations that forget God," Psalm 9:17. Also turn to Psalm 50:16-22. "He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the LORD," Proverbs 17:15.
Even when the Word is being preached, some still don't want to hear it. Even if someone doesn't want to acknowledge the truth doesn't change the fact that it is truth. You can stand on the train tracks and turn your back to the oncoming train, this doesn't change the fact that if you don't move, the very train that you refuse to acknowledge will splatter you all over the place.
People are the same way with God. They don't want God because they don't want to be held accountable for anything. But, no matter where you look, you see evidence of God. You can go from one extreme to another, but it doesn't change the fact; you are without excuse. Turn to Romans 1:16-32.
Pastors and teachers need to proclaim the Word of God; congregations need to take heed to the preached Word; we are to be disciples making disciples. We are to know the Word of God and we are to be living it, especially in our own homes. "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children," Hosea 4:6. There is a famine in this land. The famine is not just in the proclaiming of the Word of God, but also in the hearing of it. There are preachers who are still preaching truth. They haven't sold out for fame and money, but it is obvious that the majority have sold out.
Our hope is only in Jesus Christ. We know about Jesus Christ through the Word of God. Learn, and then teach others. We are to point others to Jesus Christ, even amongst a nation which is full of idolatry. Remember where the Lord saved you from. Lovingly proclaim the Word of God to all. Dear reader, if I could rap my arms around you and beg you to learn and proclaim the Word of God in context I would. "Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have not knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save. Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me. Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else," Isaiah 45:20-22. Do you know the God of the Scriptures? To God be the glory.
