May 8, 2010

• "People cannot take preaching...People are dying through lack of knowledge." (ML-J)

  My posts/prayers this past week have focused on our attitude toward the Word of God as we've looked at Nehemiah 8:1-8:
  

  • May we gather as one man to hear Your Word (Nehemiah 8)
  • Give us ears to be attentive to Your words alone (Nehemiah 8:3)
  • one sign of revival: attentiveness to the Word of God (Whitefield's Journals)

  
  Nehemiah 8:1  And all the people gathered as one man into the square before the Water Gate. And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the LORD had commanded Israel. 2  So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, on the first day of the seventh month. 3  And he read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law. 4  And Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform that they had made for the purpose. And beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah on his right hand, and Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam on his left hand. 5  And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people, and as he opened it all the people stood. 6  And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God, and all the people answered, “Amen, Amen,” lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground. 7  Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, the Levites, helped the people to understand the Law, while the people remained in their places. 8  They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.
  
  Too much of the Church has departed from the preaching of the Word of God. So many no longer have a hunger or thirst for the Word of God. We are so often attentive to any and all things but the Word of God.
  
  I would like to continue on in the same vein by presenting here the account of Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones' address at the jubilee meeting of the Scottish Evangelistic Council on May 9, 1980 in Glasgow (from Iain Murray's "David Martyn Lloyd-Jones: Volume Two: The Fight of Faith, 1938-1981," Banner of Truth: 1990, reprinted 2004, 733-734).

  According to his own words, ML-J was "not a well man" at the time: "My friend, Mr Murdoch persuaded me to come and I thank God He has given me the health and strength to be here." ML-J died the following March.
  
  Here's Murray's description of the events of that day:

      But they were not assembled, he [ML-J] went on, to talk about the past. The best way to celebrate a jubilee was to consider what the SEC was to do at the present time. The need of the hour, he believed, was for the prophetic note, to show what the Bible has to say to the present world situation. This brought him to his text, the twelve verses of Psalm 2, upon which he proceeded to preach for almost the whole of the following hour, beginning with the word, 'Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing . . .' .

      I cannot attempt to describe the sermon. The tape is available and should be heard by every reader of these pages. [Murray gives Ian M. Densham, 15 Ayr Terrace, St Ives, TR26 1ED, UK as the contact information to obtain this tape; I don't know if this is current or not. If you're interested, you may wish to contact the Banner of Truth Trust.] The frail, dying man was, in truth, am ambassador from heaven. Knowing the message he had to deliver, and the time he would need, I believe he tried to husband what strength he had but there was no holding back. The message took over the man and every last vestige of energy was poured out in both word and action. The divine wrath, of which the Psalm speaks, was to him a terrible, present reality and he asked the congregation:

  Do you still believe in the wrath of God? There are people in England – evangelicals – who think modern man needs entertainment. There is a mania for singing, for drama, for mime. 'People cannot take preaching.' it is said, "give them singing. Teach them how to dance . . . '. In the name of God I say that is to do violence to Scripture. The church is not here to entertain. It is here to call people to 'be wise', to be instructed', taught. People are dying through lack of knowledge. We are not here to be popular, but to tell the naked truth: 'Serve the Lord with fear, rejoice with trembling . . .' (v. 11).

      The final verse of the Psalm was alive with light and power as he pleaded, with failing voice, 'Kiss the Son, lest he be angry . . . Blessed are all they that put their trust in him'.

  (end quote)

  Let us prayerfully consider what we are to do at the present time.
  Are we not to sound the prophetic note through the clear and uncompromising preaching of the Word of God?
  How we have too easily discarded the preaching of the Word of God for lesser things.
  How can anyone truly kiss the Son if they don't receive clear teaching about the Son?

  Hosea 4
  1  Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel,
  for the LORD has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land.
  There is no faithfulness or steadfast love,
  and no knowledge of God in the land...

  6  My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge;
  because you have rejected knowledge,
  I reject you from being a priest to me.
  And since you have forgotten the law of your God,
  I also will forget your children.

  Hosea 5
  4  Their deeds do not permit them
  to return to their God.
  For the spirit of whoredom is within them,
  and they know not the LORD.

  
  As Dr. Lloyd-Jones said:

  People are dying through lack of knowledge. We are not here to be popular, but to tell the naked truth: 'Serve the Lord with fear, rejoice with trembling . . .' (v. 11).

  
  
  Romans 10:4  For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

  5  For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them. 6  But the righteousness based on faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) 7  or “‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8  But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9  because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10  For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11  For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12  For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13  For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

  14  But how are they to call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15  And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
  
  

  
  Please add your prayers as the Holy Spirit leads you.

  • 5:11 PM
  • 1 Comment