Would you turn back to Amos chapter
8? Let's read verse 11 again. Behold, the days come, saith
the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, nor the famine of bread, nor
thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord." I've
entitled this message, A Famine to be Dreaded. I've never experienced the horror
of a famine. But can you imagine if you knew
you were going to go home tonight and there would be absolutely
nothing to eat? And the next day there would
be absolutely nothing to eat because there was no food to
be had. Can you imagine what a plight
that would be? Can you imagine not having the
opportunity to drink anything tonight, and tomorrow there would
be no water. I've, under the understanding
that that's much more painful than hunger. Can you imagine
being in a famine with absolutely nothing to eat and no way of
getting anything, and nothing to drink, and no way of getting
anything to drink? Now, as horrible As that may
seem, here is a famine that's far more deadly. A famine where
God says, I'll send this famine. A famine of hearing the words
of the Lord. And as I think about that, that
is what I dread more than anything else. Not hearing from the Lord. Not hearing His word or being
unable to hear His word. Not hearing the words of the
Lord. Being left to myself where the
Lord doesn't communicate to me. He doesn't speak to me. The silence
of God scares me to death. I want him to speak to me. I love that song that Angie sang
where, let me hear thee say to me, fear not, I will pilot thee. I want to hear him speak to my
soul. Say unto my soul, David says,
I am thy salvation. I cannot bear the thought of
not hearing the words of the Lord. Now in the context, when
our Lord makes this statement regarding sending this famine,
of hearing the words of the Lord, the people he was speaking to
were participating in the sin of Jeroboam. Look in verse 14. David sware by the sin of Samaria,
and say, Thy God, O Dan, liveth, and the man of Beersheba liveth.
even they shall fall and shall never rise again." Now, Jeroboam
was the king of Israel. Rehoboam was the king of Jerusalem. This is when the kingdom was
first divided, and Jeroboam was the king of Israel. Now, Jerusalem
is where Rehoboam was. Jeroboam wasn't there. Jerusalem
is where the temple was. Jerusalem is where the sacrifice
was made. Jerusalem is the place God said
pray toward Jerusalem. That's the place of my blessing,
representing the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, turn to 1 Kings chapter
12. You'll remember that all the
children of Israel were required to go to Jerusalem to offer up
sacrifice. Now, Rehoboam is not the king
in Jerusalem. He's the king over Israel, the
divided kingdoms. And look what takes place beginning
in verse 25 of 1 Kings chapter 12. Then Jeroboam built Shechem in
Mount Ephraim, and dwelt therein, and went out from thence, and
built Penuel. And Jeroboam said in his heart,
Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David. Now God
said, If you obey me, I'm going to continue to prosper you, and
you'll still be king. He didn't believe what God said.
He was scared to death that the people were going to end up turning
to Rehoboam instead of himself. Verse 27, If this people go up
to do sacrifice in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, then
shall the heart of this people turn again unto their Lord, even
to Rehoboam, at Solomon's son, the king of Judah. And they shall
kill me and go again to Rehoboam, king of Judah. So he comes up
with this brilliant plan. Whereupon the king took counsel
and made two calves of gold. Error is always recirculated.
You remember when Aaron made that calf of gold? There's nothing
new under the sun. He comes up with the same old
error in a slightly different form. Error is always recirculated. Whereupon the king took counsel
and made two calves of gold and said unto them, It's too much
for you to go up to Jerusalem. It's too costly. It's too inconvenient.
There's all kinds of troubles involved in going all the way
to Jerusalem. Now, God said you go to Jerusalem, but it's too
much trouble. Behold, thy God, though Israel,
which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. Says the same
thing Aaron did. And he set the one in Bethel,
and the other put he in Dan. And this thing became a sin,
for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan.
And he made a house of high places, and made priests of the lowest
of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi. And Jeroboam
ordained to feast in the eighth month on the fifteenth day of
the month, like unto the feast that's in Judah. A copy of the
Day of Atonement is what it is. It's a copy. We'll have it here
in Bethel. We'll have it here in Dan. It'll
be just the same. You just don't have to go to Jerusalem. It's
too difficult to do that. And he offered upon the altar
of burnt and burnt incense. Now, this is called throughout
the scriptures, the sin of Jeroboam. Now, if you've read in the history
of the Kings, I think it's 16 times we read of the warning
against this sin that is mentioned right here. And this is what
Amos is talking to the children of Israel about. They were participating
in this sin of Jeroboam. And throughout the history of
the kings, this is the measuring stick. If a king didn't lead
Israel in this direction, he was a good king. If he led Israel
in this direction, he was a bad king. The sin of Jeroboam. Now
in this sin of Jeroboam, basically I see three things. First, idolatry. What else can you call it? Idolatry. He made two golden calves. two
golden calves, and said, these are your gods. Now, these are
not literally your gods, we realize that, but they represent Jehovah. That's what he said. He didn't
say this is not God. He wouldn't have said this golden
calf, this represents God, this golden calf. Just wearing it,
see? Recirculation. Had the same kind
of atonement, the same kind of sacrifice to these gods. But
on the very surface, it's idolatry. God said, don't make any likeness
of anything. In heaven above, In the earth
or under the earth, all likenesses of God are forbidden. God is
spirit. They that worship him must worship
him in spirit and truth. And so he made an image of God. Now, the second thing I noticed
about this fellow, Jeroboam, is he said, it's too much to
go to Jerusalem. It's a good thing to go to Jerusalem.
I realize that. That's where God commanded. It's a good thing.
But you don't have to. It's not necessary. You can go
to Dan. You can go to Bethel. You can go to Beersheba. It's
not necessary that you go to Jerusalem. He introduced this
idea of it's not necessary. Grace is true. But it's not necessary
for you to hear it. It's not necessary. Jerusalem's
a good place to go, but you'll be OK in Dan or Bethel. And the third thing that I would
notice about this man, in this passage of scripture we just
read, is he was all for a religion of convenience. A religion where
no sacrifice is involved. No personal sacrifice. This is
too much to you. Just go to these cities that
are easier to get to. It kind of reminds me of religion
going on so much. Why? They have it to where you
can wear pajamas. You don't even have to take a bath and just
come on in pajamas. You just come on in. foolishness. And that's what was going on
at this time, and this is what the Lord said to them. And He said, if this is the direction
you're going to go, you can have it. If that's what you want,
you can have it. Silence. I'm going to send a famine of
hearing the words of the Lord. Now, that scares me more than
anything else. I don't want a famine of hearing
from God to my soul. I want Him to speak to me. I
don't want Him to lead me to myself. I want to hear His words. Now, the Word of God. A famine of hearing the words
of God. The Word of God. Well, the Word
of God. What is that? What does that
mean? The words of the Lord. First of all, it's the Holy Scriptures. Now you listen to this statement
real carefully. You treat with the same reverence the Holy Scriptures
that you treat God Himself. Same reverence. Because it's
His Word. All Scripture is given by inspiration
of God. It's His inspired Word. And you treat His Word with the
same reverence, with the same fear, with the same respect that
you treat God Himself. It's His Word. The Holy Scriptures. Oh, I must hear the Word of God. Secondly, the Word of God is
the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, how would we know that without
the Holy Scriptures? We wouldn't. But the Holy Scriptures
tell us, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning
with God. Hold your finger there in Amos
and turn to Revelation 19. I love this description of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Revelation 19. Beginning in verse 11. John says, And I saw heaven opened,
and behold, a white horse, and he that sat upon him was called
Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire,
and on his head were many crowns, and he had a name written that
no man knew but he himself, and he was clothed with a vesture
dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God. And the armies which were in
heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen,
white and clean, and out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that
with it he should smite the nations, and he shall rule them with a
rod of iron, and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness
and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and
on his thigh a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords."
He is the Word of God. And we wouldn't know that unless
the written Word tells us that. The Word of God is the Scriptures,
the Word of God is the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Word of God is
the Gospel message. Now you can say things about
the Living Word from the written Word and never preach the Word.
Paul said to Timothy, preach the word. It's the gospel message. It's the word. Listen, it's the
word, the message from the word, the scriptures that reveal the
word, the Lord Jesus Christ. Let me show you where all three
of these things are used in one passage of scripture. Turn to
first Peter, chapter one. First Peter, chapter one. Beginning in verse 23. Being born again, not of corruptible
seed, but of incorruptible by the word of God, which liveth
and abideth forever. Is that talking about the written
word or the living word? Yes, both. Both. Yes, you can't have the written
Word begetting life without the living Word. And the living Word,
the Lord Jesus Christ, does not beget life apart from the written
Word. Being born again, not of corruptible
seed, but of incorruptible by the Word of God, the Lord Jesus
Christ, which liveth and abideth forever. And now he quotes the
written Word from Isaiah chapter 40. For all flesh is as grass,
and all the glory as the The glory of man is the flower of
grass. The grass withers. The flower there falls away.
But the word of the Lord endures forever. And this is the word.
This is the message which, by the gospel, is preached unto
you. You see, all three are here in this passage of Scripture.
The living word, the written word, and the gospel message. This is the word which, by the
gospel, is preached unto you. Now, salvation comes through
the word. Preach the Word. Faith cometh
by hearing, hearing by the Word of God. The Lord Jesus said regarding
His words, the words that I speak unto you, their spirit and their
life, the Word of God is who He is. Yes, we have the Bible
that tells us what the Word of God is and who the Word of God
is. It reveals the living Word, the only way of salvation. Now,
here's the Word. Here's the Word. God is holy. Me and you are evil. And the
only way we can be brought into His presence is for Him to do
something for us, to take away our sin and make us righteous.
And the way He does it is through the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ. God became man as the representative
of those the Father gave Him God became man and kept the law. He obeyed God's law perfectly
in the room instead of his people. Their sin became his. He's the
substitute. Their sin became his. He suffered
God's wrath. As the sinner's substitute, he
put away sin because of who he is. You see, you and I couldn't
do it because of who he is. He put away sin. He was raised from the dead because
he satisfied God. He saved everybody he came to
save. He kept the law for them. He paid for their sins. What's
the evidence that he's done it for me? I believe the word. I
believe the message. I rely upon the Lord Jesus Christ
as my salvation before God. Now that's the word. That's the
word. And you know, it's just words
unless God is pleased to put his power to it and cause it
to be real. Of his own will begat he us through
the word of truth. Faith cometh by," Romans 10,
17. Faith cometh by what? Hearing. And hearing by the Word
of God. He says, I'm going to send a
famine of hearing the words of the Lord. Now, this means much
more than hearing the sound of the words. This word, hearing,
is also usually translated obey or obedient, being obedient to
God's word. It is to hear with obedience. It's to hear with an ear of discernment
so that you understand. You know, in 2 Kings chapter
3, remember Solomon. Solomon is the wisest man to
ever live. And you remember when God said,
ask what you will. and I'll give it to you. Whatever
you want, ask me and you're going to have it. And you remember
what he asked for? He asked for an understanding heart. Now that word understanding is
the exact same word translated here, hearing. He asked for a
hearing heart. Now, that's what I'm asking for
right now. Lord, give me a hearing heart. Speak, Lord, thy servant
heareth. Let me hear what God says. Now, the word of God will not
do me any good if I do not hear it with understanding, hear it
with discernment, hear it with love. Now, to hear God's word,
we must be enabled. Turn with me to John chapter
8. John chapter 8. The Lord says in verse 43, Why do not you understand my
speech? You know, I love the way the
Lord answers in such simple manners. Because you can't. Because you
can't. You're unable. It's beyond you. You can't. You, verse 44, are
of your father the devil. And the lust of your father you'll
do. He was a murderer from the beginning. And a boat not in
the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh
a lie, he speaketh his own, for he is a liar, and the father
of it. And because I tell you the truth, you believe me not.
Which of you convinces me of sin? And if I say the truth,
why do you not believe me? He that is of God heareth God's
words. You therefore hear them not,
because you are not of God. Now, what does it take to hear
the Word of God? I've got to be of the Lord and I've got to
be enabled. I can't hear unless he enables
me to hear. How many times did the Lord say,
he that hath ears to hear, let him hear. Not everybody has ears
to hear. I want to be somebody who has ears to hear. I say with
Solomon, Lord, give me a hearing heart. Give me an understanding
heart. You remember the parable of the
sower, that when the seed was sown on the good ground, it said,
it's he that heareth the word and understandeth. Oh, what a difference it is to
hear with understanding. I preach the gospel of God's
sovereign grace. I preach that God the Father
chose who would be saved before time began. That's what the Scripture
teaches, that Christ died for the elect and accomplished their
salvation, that the grace of the Holy Spirit is irresistible
and invincible, and everybody he comes to, he gives life to,
and they'll be preserved. Now, it's one thing to hear that
and say, yeah, I agree with that. I think the Bible teaches it.
It's another thing to have some understanding of the necessity
of this for me to be saved. You see, I will not be saved
if God didn't elect I will not be saved if Christ didn't die
for me. I will not be saved unless God
the Holy Spirit comes and gives me life. I need this or I won't
be. That's what it is to hear with
understanding. Not just agree, well, yes, it says that, but
say, no, we hear with understanding. The Lord said, my sheep, hear
my voice. Now, I think when I hear justification,
I need to be justified, don't you? And I can't justify myself.
The only one who can do it for me is God. He's the only one
who has the authority to do it, to actually make me just before,
to where I don't have any guilt. I need sanctification. I need
him to make me holy because I can't make myself holy. I need, oh,
how I need every truth of the gospel. How I need the Word of
God. How I need Him to come and do
something for me. Now, God said to these people
who were participating in this sin of Jeroboam, they were playing
religion. It came out of their own heart.
It was idolatry. It was taking away necessity. It was a religion of personal
convenience and no sacrifice. He said, all right, you can have
it. And he was silent. He was silent. God said, I'll
send a famine in the land, a famine of hearing the words of God.
And I wonder how much of that is going on in our day. A famine
of hearing the words of God. I think of that. What came to
my mind, first of all, was the days of Noah. In the days of
Noah, how many people were saved? ate in the whole world. And that's just the facts. There
was a famine of the Word of God. It can happen in a nation. It
can happen in a city. It can happen in a religious
assembly. I think of how he warned the
church at Ephesus of the candlestick being removed. I think of what
he said to the church of Smyrna. Remember how you heard. What about Eli's daughter when
the Ark was taken away and she said,
is it Ichabod or Ichabod? I never have known that. Whatever
it is, it means the glory has departed. It was there and it's
gone no more. The Lord can remove his word. The gospel can be taken from
a place. The machinery goes on, but the gospel is no longer there.
The Spirit of God is no longer there. And it can happen to an
individual. It can happen to me. We can become
dull in hearing so that we can't really hear what's being said.
We can lose our appetite for the word. We can lose our thirst
for the word. We can lose our desire for the
word and we can just go on gradually, imperceptibly losing my discernment
so I can't tell the difference between the truth and error,
between law and gospel, between grace and works. Like I said,
there is nothing more scary than the silence of God where he will
not speak to me. You know, After Malachi preached,
God went 400 years without speaking. Turn with me to 2 Thessalonians
2. This is speaking of the Antichrist,
verse 9, even him whose coming is after the working of Satan
with all power and signs. and lying wonders. I mean, it's
going to seem impressive with these powers and signs and lying
wonders and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that
perish because they receive not the love of the truth that they
might be saved. The love of the truth, not just
the truth, but the love of the truth. Verse 11, And for this
cause God shall send them strong delusion. It says God will do
it. He said, I'll send this famine
of hearing the words of the Lord. For this cause God shall send
them strong delusion that they should believe a lie, that they
all might be damned who believed not the truth. but had pleasure
in unrighteousness. But, oh, I wouldn't want to finish
that without reading this, but we're bound to give thanks always
to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God had
from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification
of the Spirit and belief of the truth. Now, how can God send
a famine? He can send these men who let
these men go who don't preach the truth. And he'll send strong
delusions. He can send a famine by ceasing
to send true God-called preachers. Look in Romans 10. Romans 10. Verse 13. For whosoever shall
call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall
they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall
they believe in him of whom they've not heard? And how shall they
hear without a preacher? And look at this next line. How
shall they preach except they be sent? If God doesn't send
me a preacher, I'm not going to hear from him. He can remove
his hand so that we can't hear, even if the truth is being preached. And that scares me so much. Turn
to Matthew chapter 13. Matthew 13, beginning in verse
9. The Lord said this many times,
who hath ears to hear, let him hear. You know, not everybody
has ears to hear. If I have ears to hear, he says,
if you've got ears to hear, hear. And the disciples came and said
unto him, why speak a sound unto them in parables? And he answered
and said unto them, because it's given to you. to know the mysteries
of the Kingdom of Heaven. Beloved, before we go on, I want
you to think of the mysteries it's been given to you to know. The mystery of revelation that
we would not know unless God was pleased to make it known
about how He saves sinners by Christ. It's given to you. What a blessed privilege. It's given to you to know the
mysteries, to know that God became flesh, to know that Christ and
the church are one, a great mystery. Oh, the It's given to you to
know, to appreciate, to have a love for the mysteries of the
kingdom of heaven. But to them it's not given, verse
12, for whosoever hath to him shall be given, and he shall
have more abundance. But whosoever hath not, from
him shall be taken away, even that he hath. Therefore speak
out to them in parables, because they seeing, see not, and hearing,
they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled
the prophecy of Isaiah, which says, By hearing you shall hear,
and shall not understand. and seeing ye shall see, and
shall not perceive. For the people's heart is waxed
gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes, if
they close less than any time, they should see with their eyes,
and hear with their ears, and should understand with their
heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. But blessed
are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear." The Word of God. There is such
a thing as the Word of God. His revelation of himself. This
book is inspired Word of God. that teaches us of the Word,
the Lord Jesus Christ, God's revelation of Himself, the Gospel
message, the Word of God. And He warns us of this famine
of hearing the Word of God. And my cry is, Oh, for an appreciation
of the Word of God. Oh, to be given ears to hear
the Word of God, where I'm just like Solomon, and say, Lord,
give thy servant a hearing heart. Cause me to hear what's being
said. You know, sometimes while I'm reading the Bible, I ask
myself, do you hear what he's saying? Do you hear what's being
said? There is therefore now no condemnation
to them that are in Christ Jesus. Do you hear that? Oh, to be given
hearing ears to where I'm hearing. what God says in His Word, as
He is, so are we in this world. Do you hear that? Do you hear
that? He's made unto us wisdom and
righteousness and sanctification and redemption. Do you hear that? Oh, for hearing is to hear what
God says in His Word and to believe, to hear what God says concerning
Himself. To hear what God says concerning
man. What does God say concerning
man? And God saw the wickedness of man was great in the earth,
and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was
only evil continued. Do you hear that? Do you hear
what he said? What about salvation? By grace,
by unmerited, unsought, unearned, undeserved favor. Are you saved? Do you hear that? Oh, Lord, give
me hearing ears. Give me a receptive, obedient
heart. You know, the gospel is actually
called Galatians 3, 2, the hearing of faith. And the best thing
that you and I can ever be is a hearer of the word. I want you to think about that.
The best thing you or I can ever be is a hearer of the Word of
God. And that means a hearer of the
gospel. Now, it would be highly profitable for us to learn what
God says his gospel is. Hearing the gospel, hearing the
Word of God. Now, I am afraid of this famine. Lord, don't leave me to myself. Don't leave me alone. Speak to
me. Speak to me. Speak, Lord, thy
servant here. Give me a believing heart. Give
me an obedient heart. I think of that scripture in
James chapter 1. Let every man be swift to hear. Slow to speak. Slow to pop off. Slow to object to what God says.
Be swift to hear. Slow to speak. Slow to wrath. For the wrath of man worketh
not the righteousness of God. Lord, give me these hearing ears. You know, there's a psalm somewhere,
in the Psalms, where it says he keeps alive his soul in time
of famine. And I need that, don't you? You
know, because this is a time of famine. There is just not
much gospel being preached. Very little. Oh, that his word
would come to me, that I'd be faithful in hearing, that I'd
be faithful in preaching his word. Now here he's giving us
a warning, a warning of famine. Lord, send your word to me. Let's pray.