I'm gonna ask you to take your
Bibles and turn with me to the book of Amos. Amos. Daniel, Hosea. I think Amos is after that. No,
Joel? I'm like Scott. Somebody has moved it. Amos. Chapter eight. Amos chapter eight. Just hold ya. place there just
for a second. A few days ago, we dealt with a passage of scripture
about a famine that took place in Egypt years ago. And after we dealt with that
passage of scripture, the next morning, I woke up and my heart
was moved thinking about that famine. And as I contemplated
that topic of a famine, I began to think on another passage of
scripture that speaks of this subject. famine, a famine that
was spoken of by a man named Amos as the Spirit of God moved
upon his heart. And I want us to look at this
passage of Scripture. It's in verse 11, Amos verse
8 and verse 11, and I'm convinced upon hearing about this famine
that every believer will cry out from the depths of his heart,
Lord, keep me in the midst of this famine. I said it like that,
and I meant to say it like that, and I contemplated how I just
said it. Keep me in the midst of this
famine, because I'd like to deal with this passage of scripture
this morning, and I am truly convinced this is the message
of the hour for us, right here. Amos chapter eight, verse 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. Now, concerning this famine,
and this is a spiritual famine, the Lord said that. It's not
a famine of bread and water. Everything's fine when it comes
to having something to eat, something to drink. But it's a famine of
hearing the words of the Lord. Now I want us to consider first
that the Lord may be pleased to send a famine of the hearing
of the words of the Lord to a nation, part of a nation, to a whole
family, maybe a part of a family. And that nation or that family
which has never experienced that portion of a family or a nation
that has never experienced the quickening power of God's Spirit
in regenerating grace under the sound of the gospel of God's
free grace, that portion has never experienced that, will
never know that God has sent a famine of the hearing of the
words of the Lord. They'll never know that God sent
him. Never know that it ever existed. The reason is because their heart
is spiritually dead. Dead. You go to any part of this world
where they're experiencing a physical famine, a physical famine. I
can tell you for a fact, all of them that's in a graveyard, that physical famine doesn't
mean anything to them. They don't know anything about
it. They're dead. They're dead. They don't know it. And spiritually
speaking, if God Almighty withholds the hearing of the words of the
Lord, a nation, a family, a person
that has never experienced the quickening power of God's grace.
They don't know it. They don't care. They have no
inkling that it ever existed, that it was ever there, but they
don't have any excuse. They have no excuse. The reason
that they have no excuse is because the scripture sets forth. They
have the light of nature. You can look around right here.
I got up this morning, it was dark and dreary, and it was nothing
but snow, and it was cold, and it didn't look good. But I'm looking at the sun now.
I'm thankful for a clear road. I can see that God Almighty is
ruling in this world, in nature, and the scripture says for it.
They have no excuse, no excuse. So God may send a famine to a
place, and that place never knows it. Secondly, the Lord may send
the gospel, the light of the gospel of his free grace to a
place, but then may remove that candlestick
from that place, that place of the hearing of the words of the
Lord. that once enjoyed the blessing of God's gospel. He may remove
it and never allow it to return. To my knowledge, I looked this
morning. To my knowledge, after searching
this out, I could find that there's no record of any continuance
of the seven churches that the Apostle John on the Isle of Patmos,
there's no record of all of those churches, Thyatira, and Smyrna,
and Pergusus, and Ephesus, all of them. There's no record that
any of those churches are still there. And they were there at
one time, because John wrote a letter to all of them at the
word of the Lord. What happened? God removed the
candlestick. He told the church at Ephesus. I'll just read this for you.
This is in Revelation chapter 2 and in verse 5, the scripture
says, In that letter that was written to the church at Ephesus,
he said, remember therefore from whence thou art fallen and repent
and do the first works or else I will come unto thee quickly
and will remove thy candlestick out of his place except thou
repent. Do you know who raises up the
gospel in a place? The Lord. Do you know who removes
the candlestick from a place if he's pleased to do so? The
Lord. Does he have the right to do
it? He's the Lord. And he can do what he wants to
do because he ruleth in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants
of the earth. So the Lord can never send the
gospel, send a famine to those that know nothing of the gospel,
never heard it. And they never know that the
famine's there. Or second, he may send the gospel somewhere.
to a place and then remove it. I have experienced this personally. I was in Louisiana and I was at a place where God
Almighty was pleased to send the gospel of free grace. Gospel
of the sovereign grace of Almighty God. and then was pleased to remove
the gospel from that place. And I'm telling you that there
may be some folks still there meeting, but God removed the gospel from
him. I was there. I was there. He
may be pleased to send the gospel of God's grace to a place and
then take it away. Those that remain never know,
never know that the gospel, that the glory has departed. He's
gone. But thirdly, and this is what
I want to talk about for a few minutes here, concerning a famine
that may be possibly only for a moment. I don't know. But I can tell
you about a famine that can be experienced by those who have
been made to spiritually see and know something of the gospel
of God's grace. And this is the greatest fear
of a believer right here. a famine of hearing the words
of the Lord. I want you to understand, I'm
being very careful how I say this, because I'm telling you
for a fact, those to whom the Lord has shown mercy, they always
have the mercy of God. They'll always have God's grace. He said, I will never leave you.
I will never forsake you, never. But this fear of hearing the
words of the Lord to a believer, this is the greatest fear. It's not the fear of dying. It's
not the fear of starving to death. I tell you what it is. It's a
fear of not being able to hear the words of God. Listen to Psalm
28. Unto thee will I cry, O Lord,
my rock. Be not silent to me, lest if
thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the
pit. Let me tell you what David just
said. David cried unto the Lord, made
sorrowful as he contemplated the possibility of the silence
of God toward him. He dreaded not hearing from the
Lord in power by the Spirit of God. When the Lord seems to close
His mouth for His people, and He has, I'll
read some scriptures in a minute. When the Lord seems to withhold
the hearing of His word to His people, That needy sinner views
that state as being compared to one that is lost in hell. That's what David said. Lord,
if you're silent to me, I become like them that go down into the
pit. Psalm 143. Psalm 143 and verse
seven. Psalm 143, seven. Hear me speedily, O Lord. My
spirit faileth. Hide not thy face from me, lest
I be like them that go down into the pit. Now you listen, listen
to me. Those who speak like this are
not men and women who know nothing of the grace of God. These words are spoken by those
who are quite aware of the truth of God's faithfulness to never
leave them and never forsake them. And they believe God. They
rest in God's word. When the Lord said, I will never
leave you and I'll never forsake you, let me tell you what a believer
knows. He's not going to leave me. He's not going to forsake
me. Those who know the truth that God's sheep are given eternal
life, and they shall never perish. Know that they possess life eternal
and they're not going to perish. But those that know that know
something about the weakness of their flesh and they know
something about the propensity to fall, to stumble if they're
not kept by the Holy Spirit. David, A man, after God's own
heart, experienced the effect of that which happens if the
Spirit of God just withdraws the restraining grace just for
a moment. David cried, cast me not away
from thy presence, and take not thy Holy Spirit from me. Lord,
don't even withdraw it from me. David said, I know what happens.
You leave me to myself for a moment, I know what's gonna happen. I
know what I'll do. Lord, please don't. Please don't withdraw your comfort
from me. Lord, please don't take your
counsel from me. Lord, please don't take your
corrections from me because if you do, Lord, I'll fall, I will
fall. David was a man that was made
to know the necessity of hearing the word of the Lord. He said
in Psalm 119, 105, thy word is a lamp, a light, it's a candle
under my feet, it's a light to my path. The hearing, of the
gospel, the words of the Lord, is the only thing that keeps
a believer consistently walking. Without the hearing of the gospel,
it is nothing more than total heartache, chaos, spirit, The hearing of the gospel is
the power of God and salvation. David set forth, I can put no
trust in myself. I have no confidence in me. Lord, please don't be silent
to me. Please don't let me come to this service today and hear
this word and it be cold to me. Lord, please. Only you can create
in me a clean heart. Only you can renew within me
a right spirit. Lord, I can't make my heart burn
like those two on the road to Emmaus. I can't do that. I can't
ignite in my heart a burning to hear your word, Lord. Only
you can do that. And I'm asking you, Lord, please
don't cause me to fail to hear. the words of the Lord. Beloved, these words again by
the Holy Spirit recorded in these scriptures. These words are not
foreign to a believer. A believer knows something about
this. A believer knows what it's like to be engaged in a lifelong
struggle for some comfort in the midst of the walk in this
world. I need some comfort. I need some help. I'm ever striving
to give diligence, to make my calling in the election sure.
Lord, please don't withhold your words from me. Lord, don't cause
me to go silent when it comes to that which you have to say.
Because I know in me there dwelleth no good thing. I know there's
an old man within me I struggle against. Do you know why? God may be pleased
graciously, and I say graciously, because I'm telling you that
to be able to not hear the words of the Lord. Behold, the days
come, saith the Lord, I will send a famine in the land, not
a famine of bread, nor a thirst of water, but hearing the words
of the Lord. Somebody is hearing the words of the Lord. And if
God sends a famine of hearing the words of the Lord, those
that have heard before, they know it. You don't have to tell me. If
I stand here and preach a message, if it doesn't burn within my
heart, you don't have to tell me, I know it. You don't have
to remind me, I've experienced it, I know. I know if I have no burning desire
to meet with God in prayer, I know it. I know if I hear somebody preach
a message and it's a message consistent to these scriptures,
I know it. If that message doesn't burn
in my heart, not their fault, not the word's fault, my fault,
I know it. Please don't let there be a famine
of hearing your words in my heart. Do you know why God may graciously,
graciously withhold the hearing of his words? Now, like I said,
condemnation, judgment, our Lord has borne all that in our stead.
If there is a famine of the hearing of the words of God to a believer,
If there's a famine of hearing, it may be a moment. There's been times, I've told
you this, there's been a moment that I may read something, I
may hear something, and it just seems like, Corey, it may be
that long, but just for a moment, it broke my heart. And I couldn't
withhold my tears, and I just, Lord, thank you for that. You
ever experienced that? That's about how long it lasted for
me. It may not have been that much. But how many times have I heard
and it didn't? You that know the Lord, is it
thus with you? Is that the way it is with you? Lord, don't withhold
your words from my heart. You know why? I want you to turn
with me. Hold your place there. Turn to Psalm 106. Psalm 106,
let me tell you why. The Lord may graciously, he does
this for a reason. If he withholds his word, he
does it for a reason. And I can tell you this, he knows
how to get my attention. And you that know him, he knows
how to get yours too. Everybody gets sick. Everybody
gets sick, believers, unbelievers. Everybody goes through family
problems. But I can tell you this, only a believer experiences
a famine of hearing the words of God and it slays him. But
why? Why would he do that, why? Well,
I can tell you what happened to a group of people that came
out of Egypt. I can tell you what happened
to them and I believe that they experienced something that we
and our own way, experience too. Psalm 106, verse four to 15. Remember me, O Lord, with a favor
that thou bearest unto thy people. O, visit me with thy salvation,
that I may see the good of thy chosen, that I may rejoice in
the gladness of thy nation, that I may glory with thine inheritance.
We've sinned with our fathers. We've committed iniquity, we've
done wickedly. Our fathers understood not thy
wonders in Egypt. They remembered not the multitude
of thy mercies, but provoked him at the sea, even at the Red
Sea. Nevertheless, he saved them for
his namesake, that he might make his mighty power to be known.
He rebuked the Red Sea also, and it was dried up. So he led
them through the depths, through the wilderness. He saved them
from the hand of him that aided them, and redeemed them from
the hand of the enemy. And the waters covered their
enemies. There was not one of them left. They believed, though
then believed they his words. They sang his praise. They soon
forgot his works. They waited not for his counsel.
but lusted exceedingly in the wilderness and tempted God in
the desert. And he gave them their request, but sent leanness
into their souls. This is a solemn subject to contemplate. Israel had been sustained by
God's bounty with manna and quail from heaven. carelessness, complacency,
complaining, and assumption was found. And while the Lord continued
to bless them, manna was there every morning. Quails were there
every day. While he continued to bless their
physical need, the scripture says, because they forgot. He sent leanness, scantiness,
wasting, thinness to their soul. Oh, brethren, how quickly this
can happen. Come and gather to hear the gospel,
and after leaving, leave with a cool spirit of complacency
or forgetfulness. I think about this scripture
so much. He said, you have not because you ask not. If we remember
this morning, pour out our hearts to God this morning. Lord, please,
please don't let me go to that church. Please don't let me go
to that service. Don't let me go. And Lord, without
asking you, without knocking and seeking, asking, completely
bearing your heart before God, guilty. Do I have even a right
to even hear from him if I didn't even ask him? I have a right
to expect something to him I didn't even seek. And if I did seek,
did I seek as I would want to? Oh, God help us. I want you to,
I'm gonna ask you to pray for me as I send this pulpit. Pray for me. Lord, please, would
you send us a word? I thank God for those that do
pray for me. Say, Lord, please. We're so needy,
we're so helpless, and Lord, you here. You here. And I say, Lord, help me. Listen
to what the writer of Hebrews was moved to say in Hebrews 2.1,
therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things
which we've heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. When the bride in Song of Solomon
5.6, after she had heard the knock
of her beloved, she knew it was the Lord, And she had told him, she said,
well, I've already taken my shoes off and I've just, you know,
had a long day. Finally, the scripture says that
she arose at the voice of her beloved and she opened him only
to find him withdrawn. I want you to, I want you to
hold your plate. Just turn this. I want you to turn to look at
this scripture. Song of Solomon. Song of Solomon. Chapter five and verse six. Song of Solomon five, six, I
opened to my beloved, but my beloved had withdrawn himself
and was gone. And I want you to look at the
next words. My soul failed when he spake. I sought him, but I
could not find him. I called him, but he gave me
no answer. The watchmen that went about
the city found me. They smoked me, they wounded
me. They preached that which is experienced by all of us. They were honest with her. This
is what happens. Keepers of the wall took away
my veil. I charge you with dollars of Jerusalem. If you find my
beloved, that you tell him I'm sick of love. If you find him, would you tell
him I love him and I miss him. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for the flimsy excuse.
I'm sorry for the silliness of not being diligent. I'm sorry.
I'm sorry. Oh, beloved, according to the
wisdom of God, he may allow us to not seek and ask with importunity,
asking, asking, asking, seeking, seeking, seeking, leaving us
to think that he may not answer, making us continue in long periods
of painful waiting without an immediate answer, not because
he doesn't hear. Not because our petitions are
unacceptable, but it pleases him who knows, who knows. This is how he gets our attention, to withhold the hearing of his
words. Like I said a while ago, He's
not gonna leave it. He's not gonna forsake us. He's
not gonna cast us off. Him that cometh to me, I will
in no wise cast out. He's not gonna do it. Thanks
be unto God for that, because if he would, I deserve it. But if he withholds his words
from me, but for a moment, you'll know it. may cause him, I mean, he may
cause us, excuse me, to wait for years. But the petitions of his people,
as they call upon him in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,
they're remembered, they're archived in God's heart. Be content to
wait on the Lord. His timing is better than ours.
We never truly know what he's doing. I told you old Don Fortin
told me, he said, Marvin, we never know what the Lord's doing,
never. Wait on him. Wait on the Lord. Trust in the Lord. With all thine
heart, lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge
him. He will direct your path. We know that we need corrected.
We know that. And he knows, as I said a while
ago, he knows how to correct. Be watchful. Now in closing. I want to just I jotted down
a few things I thought about. That are signs. Signs. That we need to seriously consider. When our heart. First, when our
heart, the heart of a believer, is found to doubt the possibility
of a spiritual famine being sent to me, when my heart doubts that
possibility that he can send. David didn't pray that, take
not thy spirit from me for no reason. He knew that the Lord
would never, would never leave him alone, completely just leave
him to me. He knew that. But if he removes
the influence, the influence, if he withdraws his heart, his
spirits, but when I doubt that that could ever happen to me,
beware, beware. Secondly, when the word ceases
to convict, and we're found to be satisfied with our spiritual
state. Beware. Thirdly, when we perceive the
absence, to continually cry out to him
for mercy and forgiveness in prayer. Beware. Fourthly, when we can absence
ourselves from the assembly together with other believers and easily
justify our absence, beware. Fifthly, when we see no reason
to have a heart to daily search the scriptures, beware. Brethren, the apostle Paul was
directed by God's spirit to write to the church at Corinth, Paul
the Apostle. This was a man that was taken
to the third heaven, that heard things that he said,
I can't even say them. I don't even know how to say
them. These are unspeakable things.
The Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9, 27, but I keep under my body
and bring it into subjection, lest that by any means, when
I preach to others, I myself should be a castaway. Now this
is the man that said, I know in whom I believe, and I'm persuaded
that he's able to keep that which I've committed unto him against
that day. This was Paul the Apostle. This
is what he said, I don't take this lightly. I don't assume.
I have no right to assume, and when I assume, God knows I'd
get my attention. He knew something of the weakness
of his own flesh, and he said it was necessary for him to actually,
what he was saying, bruise himself in spirit, constantly warring
against his own flesh, that evil propensity that's so evident
to him concerning himself. to fear that after he had preached
to others, after he had heralded the truth
to others, that he would be one found to
be rejected. He said, that scares me. But
that's a healthy fear. That's a healthy fear. That's
a healthy fear. Closing, and this is it. I'm
gonna close my book right there. Turn to Psalm 51. Psalm 51. Lord, help us to be found in
this place right here. Psalm 51, verse eight, make me
to hear joy and gladness that the bones which thou has broken
may rejoice. Hide thy face from my sins and
blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O
God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from
thy presence and take not thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore
unto me the joy of thy salvation and uphold me with thy free spirit. Verse 17, the sacrifices of God
or a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart, O God, thou
wilt not despise." I pray that the Lord bless us by convicting
us, bless us by drawing us, bless us by showing us our need of
Him for His glory and our good.