TRUE TO THE WORD

Some fifty years ago, I heard the old evangelist, Vance Havner, warn that the church had become a “non-prophet” organization. If he were still living, what would he say ?  Paul wrote, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.” (2 Tim.‬ ‭4‬:‭3‬-‭4‬‬). While the number of smooth talking, ear tickling preachers has increased, there are few prophetic voices being raised—men like Micah. 

His audience response was one of hostility as he confronted them for their sin and spoke of the judgment to come. They demanded, “Do not preach…one should not preach such things; disgrace will not overtake us,” (Micah 2:9). Yet, Micah would be faithful to the truth.   Will God’s men be true to His message today, when people set their faces against us and raise their voices to oppose us?

Consider that we have a DIVINE CALLING. It was not that Micah sought to be a prophet, but that God sought him. We do not choose to be a preacher as a vocation among other options, but because it is thrust upon us by God’s sovereign decree.  If you look on preaching as merely a job to draw a paycheck, you are a hireling and not a true shepherd!

This means we have a DIVINE COMPULSION. God put a fire in Micah’s heart. The Lord ignites this fire in our bones that cannot be quenched by those trying to silence us. We are as a volcano with the pressure to preach building up inside us,  until we must erupt with the message. Jeremiah, when facing intense opposition, put it this way, “Then I said, ‘I will not make mention of Him, Nor speak anymore in His name.’ But His word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, And I could not.” (Jer. ‬20‬:‭9‬‬). 

The Lord has given us a DIVINE COMMUNICATION. God put a Word in Micah’s mouth. It was the word of the Lord that came to Micah. As he did not choose his occupation, he did not choose his proclamation. Our mandate is to, “Preach the Word!”  That is what Paul told Timothy, and by extension the Spirit demands of every preacher. People do not need our opinions crafted in oratorical splendor. They need the plain truth of Holy Scripture! Our words must be informed by His Word. 

The end of this is always a DIVINE CONSIDERATION. God put the truth in Micah’s mind. Micah’s name meant, “Who is like the Lord?”  His life was about seeking the answer to that question and setting forth insights that would bring people to consider more and more the person of God. The Word of God unleashed was to end in the God of the Word unveiled. The subject is inexhaustible for God is incomparable. Only as we know Him can we make Him known. 

The situation in which we are called and the station where we are set is a DIVINE CONTEXT. God put the place for Micah’s feet. He was, “of Moresheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.”  Moresheth was southwest of Jerusalem, near the Philistine border. It was farmland—rural and not metropolitan. He was a country preacher who was sent to the city. He was not a man of culture, like his contemporary Isaiah, but a man of agriculture!  Yet, in both cases, God set aside different men from different places to be used as His vessels.  The Sovereign God sets the context for our preparation. The experiences of life mold us into the man He wants us to be. The world needs city preachers like Isaiah, but also country preachers like Micah. Their backgrounds were different, but their message was the same (even identical, cf. Micah 4:1-3; Is. 2:2-4). 

The days in which Micah served were days of spiritual decline—with the exception being a time of revival in Hezekiah’s reign. Yet, even that would dramatically end with Hezekiah’s death and his degenerate son, Manasseh, coming to power. There have been few eras when preaching the truth was in favor. In our present context, we see that respect for Biblical preaching has dropped precipitously and we will likely see even church members moving from previous receptivity, to increasing apathy, and ending in outright hostility toward our message.  The world, of course, hates us already.

Preach the Word anyway!

A CHOSEN VESSEL

God informed Ananias that Saul of Tarsus—better known as Paul the Apostle—would be “a chosen vessel.”  In His sovereign grace, the Lord Jesus saved him and would set him apart to serve Him. Christ made the choice to reveal Himself and Saul chose to respond to His call. Those who are set apart for God’s use have no reason to boast of their worthiness, but only to glory in the grace of God. We are mere vessels that He pours into that we may pour out His Word.

Paul’s task would be to take the saving name of Jesus to all the world—Gentiles, Jews, even kings. It is such a privilege to represent the King of kings—to be His ambassador, (cf. 2 Cor. 4:20-21). 

While it is a privilege, it comes with a price.  Paul was to be told upfront that he would suffer much for the cause of Christ. As His ambassadors, we travel into hostile territory, and our message while welcomed by some, will bring the wrath of many. The world has a measure of tolerance—at least indifference—to religion. It is the exclusivity of the Gospel—the name of Jesus as the only means where one must be saved—that is the demand that ignites the world’s fury. 

There are several characteristics of a chosen vessel suggested in Acts 9:10-25. 

First, we see PRAYER.  Ananias was told of Saul of Tarsus, “behold, he is praying,” (v. 11). As natural as an infant who is born, crying out at his or her arrival, this is indicative of a spiritual birth into the family of God. Instinctively, we know we must pray. Yet, too often as we get busy in public work, we may neglect private worship. We will never be a choice vessel that God can use apart from a consistent prayer life. Paul was a productive worker, because he was a prayer warrior. 

Then, consider PERCEPTION. Ananias was to lay hands on him and pray, “so that he might receive his sight,” (v. 12). Paul had been blinded by the glorious light radiating from the Risen Christ—a light brighter than the noonday sun. Now, physically the scales would fall from his eyes so he could see, but spiritually his eyes would be opened also to see God’s purpose for his life. God gives vision to those He uses in His service. We can lead others because we have seen the path to travel.

Also, we must have POWER.  Paul would, “be filled with the Holy Spirit,” (v. 17). The assignment God has for us is too great for us. It is spiritual work and demands supernatural power. When we are saved, we have the Spirit residing in us, but when we are serving, we need the Spirit presiding over us. As we die to sin and become empty of self, the risen life of Christ fills us and makes us fruitful.  God fills the chosen vessel with His Spirit and pours out His power through us. 

This enables PERSISTENCE. We are told that Paul ate and, “was strengthened,” (v. 19). Just as his physical healing gave him sight, this literal food gave him strength. Metaphorically, this would be true in the spiritual dimension. Feeding upon the Bread of Life, he would be able to persist in service despite the opposition he would face. This might for ministry is mentioned in verse 22, “But Saul increased all the more in strength.”  God supported and sustained him as the Jews sought to kill him, (v. 24). J. Vernon McGee noted, “That all of God’s men are immortal until God is through with them.”

There will also be PROCLAMATION. “Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God,” (v. 20). God called this chosen vessel to be a preacher. His proclamation pointed to a Person—the Lord Jesus Christ. What a privilege it is to open the Bible, preach it, and point people to the Savior!  While it is true that every child of God is called to confess Christ—to bear witness to the world—there are those selected to stand in the pulpit and preach. Spurgeon put it, “If God calls you to be a minister, don’t stoop to becoming a king.”

FAITHFUL TO THE FINISH

 

A faithful preacher of the Word is assured that, sooner or later, he will face opposition. It can become fierce. It will be painful. You may be fired. My grandfather’s life was once threatened by a man with a pistol after a sermon he preached at a tent meeting many years ago.   He was not a man to back down. I pray that I will not. 

What does the future hold for those who will hold fast to the Word of God?  This text points to those who will seal their testimony with their blood. It may not be that we will pay the ultimate price, but we must be prepared to do so. Certainly, there have been our brothers across the centuries who have. There are those who are imprisoned, have been tortured, and facing execution in some places today. I am not a prophet, but it does not seem that things are going to get easier.  The winds of this world system are blowing hard in our faces, and the current of our culture that we swim against is strong.

Preacher, you may not face that extremity right now, but some of us are encountering power brokers in the church—those who are wolves in sheep’s clothing, seeking to devour us. We may know the sting of criticism and the lies of accusation. These dragon spawn haunt our dreams at night and make things difficult each day. 

Do not take matters into your own hands. Do not allow the hurt to become hate. Bitterness will only harm your testimony. It will be a cancer to your ministry. What did these martyrs do?  They cried out to God. Vengeance belongs to Him. Now, that does not mean such opponents in the church should not be confronted. Nor does it mean that church discipline need not be exercised—if the people are willing.  All I am saying is that we dare not meet fire with fire, and act in carnal ways to achieve spiritual purposes.

God is sovereign. The text speaks of this persecution continuing until a divinely ordained number of these preachers died. Remember that ultimately God is in control. He may not remove us from difficulty, but he was reward us in eternity. A robe was given and a rest was granted. 

Old Isaac Watts wrote this hymn:

Am I a soldier of the cross,

A follow’r of the Lamb?

And shall I fear to own His cause,

Or blush to speak His name?

Must I be carried to the skies

On flow’ry beds of ease,

While others fought to win the prize,

And sailed through bloody seas?

Are there no foes for me to face?

Must I not stem the flood?

Is this vile world a friend to grace,

To help me on to God?

Sure I must fight if I would reign;

Increase my courage, Lord;

I’ll bear the toil, endure the pain,

Supported by Thy Word.

Thy saints in all this glorious war

Shall conquer, though they die;

They see the triumph from afar,

By faith’s discerning eye.

When that illustrious day shall rise,

And all Thy armies shine

In robes of vict’ry through the skies,

The glory shall be Thine.

INVINCIBLE

Now after the king had burned the scroll with the words which Baruch had written at the instruction of Jeremiah, the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying: “Take yet another scroll, and write on it all the former words that were in the first scroll which Jehoiakim the king of Judah has burned.”  (Jeremiah 36:27-28)

How would you feel if on Sunday morning as you went to the pulpit, the deacon chairman grabbed your sermon notes, cut them up with scissors, and burned them right in front of the congregation?  Would you be sad?  Would you get mad?  Would you turn to flight?  Would you stand up and fight?

Jeremiah, the faithful prophet had been given a message for wicked King Jehoiakim.  He so despised God’s Word as to cut it into pieces and burn it in front of the court officials.  What did Jeremiah do?  He wrote the same message and added to it—a message of judgment for the king and his kingdom.  There is a time to speak to power.  If God gives us a message we dare not flinch in the face of opposition.  The Word of God is invincible!

Old John Bunyan believed that—and preached accordingly.  His arrest was ordered by the king of England, whose tyranny Bunyan had spoken against.  He was imprisoned for twelve years for preaching the Gospel.  His wife, Elizabeth, pleaded his case before the judges.  She was alone, raising their four children, and begged to have her husband released.  Of course Bunyan would be set free on only one condition—that he stop preaching.  Elizabeth’s response, “He dares not leave preaching, my lord, so long as he can speak.”  Was it so?  The judges pressed Bunyan for an answer and this was it: “If you free me today, tomorrow I will speak in the streets that all men have a right to worship God as conscience guides them, and that the state has no right to tell them how to worship.”  It was in the Bedford prison that Bunyan had a dream that was put to paper, and became the immortal, “Pilgrim’s Progress.”  The Word of God is invincible!

I do not know what you are facing, dear brother.  Maybe no one has burned your sermon notes, or cast you into prison for preaching.  Still, if we are faithful to the Word and speak out against the world—we know there will be hostility to some degree.  On the present trajectory in this nation, we are facing increasing opposition to the Gospel.  Some dear sister sits and scowls during your sermon.  A deacon verbally chastens you after the service.  You receive that dreaded anonymous letter attacking your ministry.  Just preach anyway.  Remember, the Word of God is invincible!