A Famine In the Land

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: {12} 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)

But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. (Mat 4:4)

It takes more than bread and water to sustain life …that is, SPIRITUAL life. An animal may be sustained with food and water, but a living soul made in the image of God has needs that go beyond the physical. A soul needs sustenance also, and the only thing that will sustain the life of a soul is the pure Word of God. We MUST hear from God or our soul dries up, starves, and withers away. It will not do to simply hear from men – we must hear from God. When there is a famine in the land and the people of God do not hear from God they begin to wander in search of something to sustain them. Abram went down to Egypt because of a famine. Elimelech and Naomi took their family down to Moab because of a famine. All the children of Israel ended up in Egypt because of a famine in the land.

There is a famine in the land! Not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. There is not a famine of churches, and there is not a famine of religious enthusiasm, but there is a famine of hearing the words of God. We have lots of religion and religious excitement, but very little of the real presence of God. Therefore, there is great discontentment among the people of God. For those who are listening and watching it is very easy to see and understand that there is a great portion of the people who attend church who are so discouraged and disheartened with it all that they are looking for a way out. They go to their churches week after week and hear the same things over and over. They hear things that are designed to promote church growth instead of the growth of a soul. Most are listening to men preach who have been trained in the schools of men but who have not been broken by God. These men have convinced themselves that they are to build a “work for God” and that the sheep will automatically get their sustenance in the process. The meat these men dish out may fascinate the intellect or give an emotional buzz but it leaves the soul of a true child of God empty, weak, and wanting.

Therefore, there is a great exodus going on. People are leaving the fundamental churches in masses. They are going in search of something for their soul. As they are leaving, the fundamental pastors are acting like Pharaoh and his taskmasters or like King Saul when the people began to abandon him. Instead of recognizing the fact that the sheep are fleeing in search of food for their soul and help for their families they just tighten down the screws tighter, demanding more soul-winning, more giving, more activities, more faithfulness to the church activities and programs. They crack the whip and talk about how these people who leave are liberals and reprobates that just do not want to live right. They are so sure that THEY have exclusive rights as the vicars of Christ that they will not even consider the notion that they might be wrong or lacking in themselves …so the exodus increases in numbers and speed. Despite what they say or think, everyone knows that many of the GOOD people are leaving – not just the ones who want to live loose and immoral. Many of THOSE people are staying put and becoming the deacons and Sunday School teachers …and preachers. People like that do not have anything spiritual to give …so the famine gets worse.

We need to quit talking so much about “church” and “doing” and start talking about God. We need to stop putting so much emphasis on “building a work” and start putting some emphasis on “feeding the sheep.” You do not feed a soul with a whip and a chain. God’s people are not slaves on a plantation or workers in a sweatshop. They do not HAVE to stay put and so they will leave before they sit and starve to death. Spiritual life is not sustained by simply gritting your teeth and doing your duty. A soul cannot survive on being shamed, scolded, and condemned to hell week after week after week because he is not DOING enough. A man of God that has the goods from God will be balanced and will not just beat the sheep to death until they all run for their lives. A true man of God will feed the sheep as well as correct them. He will make sure that they get something from God to strengthen their soul and meet their needs. Preaching on soul-winning, church attendance, tithing, and volunteering for all the church activities may be what the college professor said to do to build and maintain a church, but a steady diet of that stuff will starve a church to death and scatter the sheep to the wind. People have needs that go beyond physical things. Homes are in a mess, marriages are in trouble, and people have problems with their children. People have heavy burdens to bear that no one knows about and absolutely do not know what to do. Once in a while someone brings a sinner whose life is wrecked and hopeless. All these come to church in hope of hearing something from God that will give them some answers. Instead they get another message on soul-winning, or faithfulness to the church, or they hear some prefabricated, powerless, presentation of some intellectual fantasy all laid out in pretty order with acrostics or with each point beginning with the same letter that absolutely misses the mark in their life and situation right now. They go home more discouraged than when they came. If you don’t know this is going on then you better get your head up and start taking notice. The younger generation has almost completely gone elsewhere seeking something besides spiritual whippings. Their parents are following close behind them. The sheep are scattering and they are not all scattering because they are reprobates – they are starving to death!

People need GOD! They need a close, personal walk with God themselves. They need to experience the touch of God on their own soul. They need to know what it is to pick up the Word of God and have the God of heaven speak to their soul with his Word. They need to experience the comfort and strength that God alone can and does give to his children. All the business of the church should be geared toward helping people to know God in this way. People need wisdom from God – not just good advice from men. They need to learn to seek God and his Will in their marriages, in their homes, in rearing their children, and in their relationships with others. Of course, to accomplish this, sin must be uncovered and dealt with often, but just preaching on sin will not feed the sheep.

Make straight the way of the Lord! People are growing more and more weary of the confusing, self-serving doctrines being preached in fundamental churches. God is not the author of confusion, but of peace. Many people are confused now because they have been faithful and done all they have been told to do for years. They have labored long in the work of the church until they are too weary to go on and all they have is a discouraged heart, a troubled home, and a weary body. Many will go to church this Sunday and hear the same song again and go home empty one more time. Would to God that the people of God would go to church this Sunday and hear a man of God who has been walking with God! One who has been broken by God and has fresh bread to give his people – something real from the hand of God and not just another bunch of clichés and stories and a borrowed outline from some other preacher’s message. How would it affect the church and the work of God if the people could go home this Sunday like the people did the day Solomon dedicated the temple?

On the eighth day he sent the people away: and they blessed the king, and went unto their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the LORD had done for David his servant, and for Israel his people. (1 Ki 8:66)

It is true that there are many people who refuse to hear the Word of God, but that is not what is hindering the work of God. The great hindrance to the work of God in our day is the fact that there is so little truly anointed preaching of the Word of God. There are too few places where a thirsty soul can get a drink and a hungry pilgrim can get a piece of bread. Surely this is what Jesus saw also as He walked this earth long ago. He also expressed the same hope – that God would send forth faithful laborers to feed and care for these fainting sheep.

But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest. (Mat 9:36-38)

What kind of laborer are you? If you are a pastor or teacher, are you willing to examine your motives and your message with an honest heart? Are you truly seeking from God so you will have something to give to the people, or is your position a means to use others to accomplish your work for God? Do you have anything for them besides jokes and fables? Do you walk with God during the week or do you feed your own soul with TV or sports and end up scurrying around trying to find something to preach when Sunday arrives? Is your motive really the spiritual welfare of the individuals that listen to you or is your motive to be credited with having a successful church or being a successful evangelist, or whatever? This is not only for pastors and teachers – it also applies to every one of God’s children. We are all to be “holding forth the word of life.” We should all be about the business of seeing that everyone has enough of the Word of God to sustain their soul. There is a famine in the land and people are starving. Our children and grandchildren are perishing and it is unnecessary because there is an abundant supply available. BE A BLESSING! HAVE SOMETHING TO GIVE! AND THEN GIVE IT!
 

Mike Miller
December 5, 2009