All right, let's look here in
Amos together. Read those verses again, 11, 12, and 13. Behold,
the days come, saith the Lord God, that I'll send a famine
in the land, not a famine of bread, nor thirst for water,
but just the famine I'm going to see, hearing the words of
the Lord. And they'll wander from sea to
sea, from the north even to the east, And they shall run to and
fro to seek the word of the Lord and shall not find it. In that
day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst. Here's a famine. We've heard
about this famine. And we're probably right in the
middle of one right now. But the nation of Israel They
disobeyed God, oh how they often disobeyed God, rebelling against
His law, rebelling against His commandments. And yet the Lord
continued to send His prophets to them, just kept sending prophets
to them, to instruct them, to call them, call them to repentance.
And they were a stiff-necked people. Let me, you keep this
and look over with me in Psalm 95. Look what God said about
it. Psalm 95. You know, they erred in their
hearts and they didn't know God. They didn't know God. They just,
you know, even followed other gods. You know, God swore in
His wrath that they would not enter into His rest. Yet the Lord owned them, restrained
them. He wouldn't let them be without
a word from the Lord. Look what He said here in verse
Verse eight, excuse me, verse 10. For 40 long years was I grieved
with this generation and said, it is a people that do err in
their heart and they have not known my ways unto whom I swear
in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest. So God put up with these people.
But you know, He restrained them, He kept them, He owned them to
be His own. And He never let them go without
a word of the Lord. But now, now in this chapter
of Amos, the Lord announced His judgment upon Israel. And the
worst thing that can come upon them or come upon anybody, He
said, I'm gonna take my word from you and there'll be no message
for me from you anymore. There'll be no message from the
word of the Lord. And I tell you, he said, you
know, I'm gonna send a famine. Not for the people, but for the
hearing of the word of the Lord. And I know this, if men are deprived
of light, they're gonna stay in darkness. If God don't give
them light, they're gonna live in darkness. And I also know
this, That if they're deprived of the truth, then they're gonna
walk in error, great error, if you're deprived of the truth.
And I tell you, you think about God, blinding men, blinding men. No word from God. What a great
thing to fear, what a great, great thing to fear. They were
said of Ephraim, that's one of God's chosen, one of Joseph's
children. God said, let him alone. He's
joined himself to idols, just let him alone. And the Pharisees,
you know, Peter said, you've offended the Pharisees. Our Lord
said, let him alone. Just let him alone. Just let
him alone. And I'll tell you what, David,
you know, he said, take not thy Holy Spirit from me. Take not
Holy Spirit from me. And I remember running across
this verse years and years ago when I talked to several preachers
about it. In Micah chapter 3 and verse 7, it says, there is no
answer from God. No answer from God. Call on Him
and no answer. Speak to Him and He will speak
back. Oh, and Amos wrote here, they shall run to and fro to
seek the word of the Lord and won't be able to find it. That's
what he said. And I tell you what, the service
of God, and I tell you this is what, it's a very troubling thing
to even think about, for God to shut up the heavens and not
have anything to do with anybody again. That would be a horrible
thing. Horrible thing. But what is it? What's going on whenever a famine,
there's a famine for hearing the word of the Lord? What kind
of famine is it that you know when there's no hearing of the
words of the Lord? You know, God was silent for
400 years. From Malachi, from Malachi to
when John the Baptist started preaching, God never said a word
for 400 years. But you know what happened? Men
kept on being religious. Kept on going to the synagogues.
Kept on reading the Bible. Kept on praying. Just kept on
going through the form. Kept on going through the ceremonies.
Kept on going through the rituals. And God wasn't speaking. Nobody
got up and God was blessing them. Nobody. Nobody. 400 years, yet the religion went
right on. And I tell you, religion doesn't
cease even if God's not speaking to a people. Religion ain't gonna
cease. That's as much a part of man as his very emotions themselves. You know, it's like that woman
at the well. Our Lord Jesus was talking to
her and she said, our fathers worshiped over in that mountain.
She said, we got a place where we go and that's where we worship.
And you all say go down here to Jerusalem and worship down
there. They always said go to a place. Go to a place. This is where
our fathers did it. But I tell you our Lord Jesus
came unto His own, His own nation, His own priesthood, His own tabernacle. But you know what He said? His
own received Him not. You know why? Because there was
a hearing, when there's no famine, there's a hearing. But when there
is a famine, there's a hearing of hearing the Word of the Lord.
Let me just give you a few illustrations if I can, a few things to say
about it. You know, preachers go on preaching without the power
of the Holy Ghost at all. Most preachers don't even know
what the Holy Spirit is. They've never experienced it,
so it never has been there. So there's no evidence that it's
ever been there. And if there was a place where
the Holy Spirit was, after a while He leaves because of what's being
preached. They go on preaching without
the power of the Holy Spirit. And I tell you what, if the voice
of a man is only what people hear, and I tell you what, you
ain't going to hear nothing. You know, when the scripture
says, when the gospel is in word only, and he said, you know,
Paul told the Thessalonians, our gospel came not unto you
in word only, but if it comes in word only, only in word, there'll
be no new birth, there'll be no conviction of sin, there'll
be no revelation of Christ, there'll be no comfort or growth. where
the Holy Spirit's not present, it just won't happen. But that's
what he said, our gospel came unto you, not just in word. It's
gotta come in the power of the Holy Ghost and with much assurance. That's what it's gotta come in.
But preachers go on preaching and they don't have a clue. And
I tell you, it's going on all over the world, going on all
over the world. You know this is a mysterious thing to me.
You go to these third world countries. You go to Mexico and you know
the fast growing religion down there is Pentecostalism. Now how in the world could you
be in Pentecostalism in Mexico? What kind of language did they
speak here that they couldn't understand? But that's what goes
on all over the place. And they say they're driven by
the spirit. But it's another spirit. It's
not the spirit of Christ. And then you know people assemble
together. Great assemblies get together.
They gather up on the Lord's day. And the Lord's not present
with them. They're like, you remember when
Mary and Joseph, they went up to Jerusalem and they started
home. They started back home. And they
went a day's journey supposing that Jesus was with them. Supposing
that Christ was with them, the Lord Jesus was with them. They
went a day's journey and they said, well, he's among our kingfolks.
They went to looking for him. They couldn't find him. They
went a day's journey supposing just supposing that he was with
them. And that's what most folks do. They suppose that the Lord's
with them. And I'll tell you what, they
say, well, he's in our company, but he wasn't there. They went,
where's my son at? Where's Jesus at? Well, have
you seen him? No, I ain't. They had to turn
around and go back. That's two days. But they thought
that he was with them. Oh my, as one old preacher said,
we have listened to the preacher, truth by him has been shown,
but we need a great teacher from the everlasting throne. And I
know this, if the word of God has any effect on anybody, God's
got to be the one to make it effectual. I can't make it effectual,
but God can, and he's the only one who can. And I tell you what,
you know, men get up to read the Word of God. Read the Word
of God. But it never touches the heart
in most places. And yet there's the disciples
that walked on the immense road with the Lord Jesus Christ. And
they said, did not our hearts burn within us while He opened
to us the Scriptures? And oh my, don't you know in
the Assemblies, you know, the Word of God's written. It don't
have no effect on people. Oh my, they're just meaningless. Listen, just meaningless, the
word of God's read. You know, I remember different
times in my life. I remember one of the first meetings
we had here at our conference. Bruce Crabtree got up and read
one verse of scripture. And the power of God fell on
this whole congregation. I remember like it's yesterday.
He read one verse of scripture. Whatsoever you eat, whatsoever
you drink, whatsoever you do, do all for the glory of God. Somebody got up to read at 13th
Street one time. They read about people exalting
themselves. He that exalted himself shall
be humbled. He that humbles himself shall
be exalted. And all I could hear was that
preacher, when he read that scripture, it was to nobody but me in that
service. And that building was full. God
drove that home to my heart. Oh, you think you're something?
You're nothing. And that just stripped me right
in that service. And nobody knew it but me. And
God. That's what I'm talking about.
But men will read the Word of God now, and it has no meaning
to anybody. Has no meaning. It don't have
no power. And then you take the Lord just
as the baptism in the Lord's table. Oh, we're talking about
a famine for hearing the word of the Lord. Oh, everybody observes
them. Oh, they're just meaningless
rituals and ceremonies. And if you do it without Him,
if you do it without Him, and knowing Him, and understanding
what you're doing because of Him, it absolutely means nothing. You'll just be eating some bread
and drinking some wine. You'll just get wet is all you'll
do. And all people keep up their
prayers, but if God don't hear the prayers, God don't answer
from God. Oh my. And I'll tell you what,
and I'll tell you when this famine and drought, he said, I'll send
a famine for the hearing of the word of the Lord. There ain't
gonna be no word preached. Where's those who want to hear
it? I've said this before, if people, you can stand up, if
you stood up and offered salvation for a hundred dollars, if you
give a hundred dollars, God said he'd save you. Everybody and
their brethren come up with a hundred dollars. If they told you you
had to dress a certain way, people start dressing that way. If they
said, you gotta hair, wear your hair a certain way, they'd wear
their hair that way. But when you tell them that salvation's
full, salvation's free, that Christ paid it all, all to Him
we owe. Listen, there can't be nothing
free. God just don't give things like
that. But He does. He does. And oh, when the famine and drought
are at their height, I tell you, you know when this happens? when
the scriptures begin to be argued over instead of being a comfort. Oh my. People debate instead
of looking for instruction, looking for the inspired word. And this
is really bad when we're more concerned with proving our doctrine
than proving ourselves. Huh? Oh my. And you know what that means?
That means that the means of salvation then becomes a strong
delusion. A strong delusion. And God help
me, I don't want to be deluded. Do you? No, I don't. Oh, hey, God said, the days come,
I'll send the famine in the land. Not because, oh, you'll have
plenty of bread on your table. You'll have water to drink. But
where you gonna find the hearing of the word? Where you gonna
find that at? Well, how can you and I, how can we, and I'm talking
to us, us, how can a famine like this be prevented in our day
where we live? Only one way, by the grace of
God. By the grace of God. You know,
I want you to look with me now over in Psalm 51. Look with me
in Psalm 51. Psalm 51. Let's go through Psalm
51 together, just for a minute. Take a few minutes here. You know, there's men who are
seeking the Lord. They are seeking comfort. Sinners
that are seeking comfort. Believing sinners are seeking
comfort. And David, he was living in this day. Psalm 51. He was living in this day. And
he prayed this psalm. Wrote this psalm. And God listened
to him. God heard him. And I believe
he'll hear us when we do like this right here. Oh, first thing,
look at verse 1 and 2. This is how we're going to keep
from having a famine. Have mercy upon me, O God. Oh,
he had a plea for mercy. Have mercy upon me, O God. According
to thy lovingkindness, unto the multitude of thy tender mercies,
blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity. Cleanse me from my sin. Here's
a plea for mercy. David pleads for mercy. And what
was the grounds, what was the foundation that he breathed for
mercy? The Lord's loving kindness. The Lord's tender mercies. He
didn't come and say, Lord, I've done this and I've done that,
and I'm righteous here and I'm righteous there, and I was a
king and I fought battles. He never said any of those things.
But he prays, oh God, wash me. Wash me. Wash me. Cleanse me from my sins. Blot
out my transgressions. And oh, he is the very one that
said, there is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared. First of all, we plead for mercy. I don't want a famine in the
land. I don't want a famine for the hearing of the word of the
Lord. But first is a plea of mercy. Look what else, the second
one was a confession of sin. Look what he said here in verse
three and four. For I acknowledge my transgressions, and listen
to this, My sin is ever before me. You know, men are so bad
to say, boy, their sins are ever before me. What they did's ever
before me. I've got, you know, there's people
that just don't like me, and then you know it's my fault.
And I'm sure it is my fault. I mean, there's lots wrong with
me. But he said, I acknowledge my transgressions. My sin's ever
before me. And then he goes, it's against
you, and you all have our sin, and damn this evil in thy sight,
that thou mightest be justified when you speak, and be clear
when you judge. I do know this, that there'll
be no forgiveness of sin, no mercy from God, where there's
no confession of sin. He said, if we confess our sins,
he'll cleanse us from our sins. And Proverbs said it like this.
He that cometh to sin shall not prosper, but whoso confesses
them and forsaken them shall have mercy. And this is how honest
his confession was. He said, my sin is ever before
me. My sin. My sin. Oh, we worry about what other
people think, what other people say, and what other people's
gonna do. But what about God looking at us? Oh my, listen to this. This is
the most important thing right here. Solemn and important statement. David said it's against you that
I've sinned and done evil in your sight. What David is doing,
he justifies God and takes sides with God against himself. Against
himself. You're just when you speak. when
you speak against my sin, and you're clear when you judge me
and condemn me. And I do know this without a
shadow of a doubt. If God brings you to where you're
a real bonafide sinner, you know what you'll say? I don't deserve
anything from God. I mean, if He would have condemned
me, I would have been just in doing it. And I tell you, every
time I sin, He's just in dealing with me the way He needs to.
But I do know this. He'll own that He deserves to
be damned if God don't have mercy on Him. You're God's the one
I've sinned against. You, you. And then look what
he says, oh my. We're talking about a famine
for the hearing of the word of the Lord. We don't want one.
This is what I'm trying to tell you. This is what we need to
do and what we are doing continually and constantly so God won't leave
us to ourselves. But you know there's a reason
for our troubles. Look in verse 5 and 6. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity,
and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, thou desirest truth
in the inward part, and in the hidden part thou shalt make me
to know wisdom. You know, there's a reason that
we have the troubles that we have in this world. Our great
problem is so much not what we do as what we are. That's what
our problem is. And you know what, we're all,
well, we're falling, depraved, wretched, miserable, blind. God help us sinners. And if the
Lord don't do, and you know, and he looks at us and watches
us, and what David does is he says, you know what my problem
is, Lord? He said, I'm gonna tell you, I'm gonna confess my
problem to you. I was shaping an iniquity. When
my father conceived me in my mother's womb, I was sin when
I was in that womb. I was a sinner when I came out
of that womb. I come forth from my mother's
right womb speaking lies. Oh, he said, what I am is my
problems with me, me. Oh, his problems within. Not only is the water bad, but
you know where the water comes from is bad. Oh my. We were conceived in sin. Oh no. Oh my. You know what has
to happen? There must be a new birth. Must
be a new heart. Must be a new nature. And only
God can do that. Only God can do that. And then
look, but God gives us a remedy. Look what he says in verse 7
and 8. Purge me with hyssop. and I shall be clean. Wash me,
and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness,
that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. You know,
it says here, purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean. The Catholic
Church has a doctrine, they call it purgatory, purgatory. That's a place where everybody
goes when they die, And they have to stay there till they're
purged from their sins. And they either got purged for
them by suffering themselves or some of their family members
do good works and have prayers for them and gives money for
them and gets them out sooner. And they stay in purgatory till
they're purged from their sins and ready to go to heaven. Now
that's one thing that's true. One thing that's true. If we're
going to stand in God's presence, we must be purged from our sin. Now where is this going to happen?
How is this going to happen? He by himself purged our sins. But look what David says, Purge
me with hyssop and I shall be clean. Oh my. And what he's talking
about here is the blood atonement on the mercy seat provided by
God's blessed Lamb, our Lord Jesus. You know the first time
the word hyssop's used in the Bible is on the Passover night. On the Passover night. They pour
that blood of that Passover lamb out in the bowl and they took
hyssop and they dipped it in that blood and they sprinkled
it on the doorpost and on the lamb. That's the first time you
hear a hyssop mentioned. And oh God, that's why when they
use that hyssop, that's the first time it's mentioned. And He said,
God said, when I see the blood, I'll pass over you. And that's
the only way that God can bring blessings in the presence of
God to His people, is through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ,
by Him purging our sins. So let's do it again. How can
we keep from having a famine for hearing the word of the Lord?
You know, you go from having good crowds to hardly nobody.
But he says, oh, a plea for God's mercy from the heart. God, give
us mercy. Please don't leave us to ourselves.
And then a genuine confession of sin. Now, I don't know. You know, I'll tell you, I'm
sorry for being sorry. I'm sorry before God that I'm
sorry. And then an understanding of the root problem. What's the
root problem? Shapen in iniquity and conceived
in sin. And I'll tell you something that
we just got to have, the preaching of the Lord Jesus Christ. Our
substitute, one who stood in our place, stood in our room,
bore our sins there on his own body on that tree. God laid on
him the iniquity of us all. And when they was found on him,
he was crucified. He died. And I do know this,
that God will honor those who honors his son. And where there's
a famine for the word, the problem's generally not in the pew, but
it's in the pulpit. In the pulpit. I do know and
I believe with all my heart where Christ is preached, God will
bless His word and the Father will bless the gospel. He'll
bless it for His good and our glory. Our Father in the blessed name
of Christ, Lord, we talked about a famine for hearing the word
of God. Where can we go to hear it? Who
is preaching it? Who is telling the truth? Who
is preaching Christ? Who is preaching Christ crucified?
Who is preaching Him as our sin offering, sacrifice, our substitute,
our satisfaction before God? Oh Lord, whoever that's preached,
you promised that you'd bless your gospel, bless your son,
bless the word. And Lord bless your word. Oh
God bless your word. May life come from it. May power
come through it. May hearts be touched by it.
May understandings be enlightened by it. And oh Lord, if we have a problem
in hearing, Lord, let us come before you
and say, Lord, what's with me? What's my problem that I can't
hear, that I don't listen? It has no effect upon me. Oh,
Lord, please, please reveal it to me. I want to hear your word. I want to believe your word.
I want comfort from your word. I want assurance from your word.
I want to grow in your word. and grow by it. So Lord, please
save us from ourselves. Bring glory to yourself. For
Christ's sake. Amen. Amen. Jesus Christ is made
to me All I need, all I need He alone is all my plea He is
all I need Wisdom, righteousness, and power Holiness forevermore,
my redemption full and sure, He is all I need. See you Sunday, God willing.