Guest Blogger - Pastor Russell Muilenburg

In a few months, I'm hoping that my pastor buddy Russell Muilenburg will be posting his sermons online so that I can link to them.

I've been reading them for the last 9 years, and it's good stuff! Russell has just started his pastorate at Hope Reformed Church in Spencer, Iowa. And he's off to a roaring good start!

Until he's online, Russell has given me permission to post his sermons on my blog.

Here's the first one on Amos 8:11-14 titled, "Why Preaching?"

Enjoy!

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"WHY PREACHING?"

Ministry Passion

In my first few months of preaching here at Hope I’m trying to preach on things that I am passionate about. I want you to have the opportunity to see what gets your new pastor’s heart beating fast. I want you get an idea of what I’m about.

And so, my first series of sermons was about our BIG God. My great passion is helping people see how great God is. He’s a God that we can fully invest our lives in, because He won’t let us down.

Now, I’d like to spend a few weeks on my other great ministry passion: Preaching.

I believe that preaching is an exceedingly important part of the Christian life. I know I might be a little biased, since this is what I do, but I believe God has given us preaching as way to strengthen our faith and keep us connected to Him.

And yet, even though a lot of us are in church nearly every week and we’ve been listening to sermons for most of our lives, we rarely talk about why we do it.

You have to admit that what we do here on Sundays is pretty unusual—there aren’t a whole lot of other venues in life where we gather in rows to have the same person talk at us week after week. It probably wasn’t until I got to seminary that I received a good explanation of why preaching is important. And even while I was trained in how to give a good sermon, I don’t know that I’ve ever heard good training on how to listen to one.

And so, I’ve decided we’d do a five week series on How to Listen to a Sermon. For the next five weeks, we’re going to talk about this thing that takes up a half-hour of every Sunday and make sure that we’re getting the most out of it that we can.

You Wouldn’t Skip a Meal, Would You?

Now, some of you may be thinking, "If preaching is as important as this guy says it is, then why don't I remember more of the sermons I have heard?" Some of you are probably thinking, "I've gone to church all my life, and if I'm lucky, I can probably tell you about 4 or 5 sermons I've heard."

Well, I don't know if any of you were actually thinking that, but I was. I'm 35 years old now, and I've been going to church my whole life. Figure one sermon a week for about 1800 weeks, and I've heard approximately 1800 sermons.

Of course some weeks I didn't go to church and you can't really say I heard any sermons during the first 5 years of my life, and for the last 10 I’ve been doing the preaching, but there were still a lot of weeks where I went to two services and with all the sermons I listen to as a part of my study, we'll say 1800 is about right.

Now, out of those 1800 sermons I’ve heard, I’d say I can remember about 10 with any semblance of detail. Moreover, I've preached about 500 sermons of my own, and I doubt I could tell you much about half of them.

I found the following story concerning a letter sent to the editor of the magazine The British Weekly:

The letter read:

Dear Sir: I notice that ministers seem to set a great deal of importance on their sermons and spend a great deal of time in preparing them. I have been attending services quite regularly for the past thirty years and during that time, if I estimate correctly, I have listened to no less than 3,000 sermons, but, to my consternation, I discover I cannot remember a single one of them. I wonder if a minister's time might be more profitably spent on something else? Sincerely....

Well, the letter triggered an avalanche of angry responses for weeks. Some people agreed and wrote letters ripping sermons. Others wrote in defense of preaching. But eventually a single letter closed the debate:

My dear Sir: I have been married for thirty years. During that time I have eaten 32,850 meals--mostly of my wife's cooking. Suddenly I have discovered that I cannot remember the menu of a single meal. And yet, I received nourishment from every one of them. I have the distinct impression that without them, I would have starved to death long ago. Sincerely....

There, I think, is an apt analogy for seeing the significance of preaching. Just like we need a regular intake of food in order to fuel our physical lives, so also we need a regular intake of God’s word in order to fuel our spiritual lives. Jesus said, “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4)

So, even if we don't remember every sermon we hear, the regular hearing of God's word preached is a vital part of our spiritual diet. The experience of hearing God's word, of being touched in our hearts and minds and wills, provides important spiritual nourishment in our lives. No more than a human being can go without a regular intake of food can a Christian go without a regular intake of God's word.

This is probably nowhere better demonstrated for us than in the book of Amos. Amos 8:11-14:

'The days are coming,' declares the Sovereign LORD, 'when I will send a famine through the land--not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD. Men will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the word of the LORD, but they will not find it. In that day the lovely young women and strong young men will faint because of thirst. They who swear by the shame of Samaria, or say, "As surely as your god lives, O Dan," or, "As surely as the god of Beersheba lives"--they will fall, never to rise again.'

Amos was a prophet to the northern kingdom of Israel around 750 years before Christ. He was a humble man whose regular line of work was that of a shepherd.

The central theme of his prophecy was the covenant between God and His people. God is faithful to his part of the covenant, but the people haven’t been faithful to theirs.

So by the time we get to chapter 8, Amos is relaying a series of visions warning of Israel’s coming destruction. The people are compared to a basket of ripe fruit, who are ripe for God's judgment. "The day is coming," God says through Amos, "when Israel will pay for its sins."

And verse 11 tells us what this judgment will consist of:

'The days are coming,' declares the Sovereign LORD, 'when I will send a famine through the land--not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD.

God is going to end the preaching of His Word in Israel.

The implication is clear: as bad as "a famine of food or a thirst for water" would be, being deprived of God's Word would be even worse. The point, again, is that the regular hearing of God’s Word preached is a vital part of our spiritual diet.

What follows, then, is a listing of three calamities that will befall the people who do not hear God's word. This is really a pretty negative passage. It tells us what will happen when the preaching of God’s word is left out of our diet.

But at the same time, we can make this a very positive passage. Because if we can learn what is missing when God’s word is not heard, then we can also discover what benefits come our way when we are regularly attending the preaching of God’s word.

“Compass Check”

I. Let’s start with verse 12. Amos tells us:

"Men will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the word of the LORD, but they will not find it."

Here’s the negative: when there is a famine of hearing God's Word, people stagger. I understand this to mean that when God’s word is not heard, people lose their way. They lose their direction.

The picture Amos gives is a picture of men wandering aimlessly. Not moving north to south in a straight line, but moving north for a while and then moving east for a while--like people who have no idea where they are going.

When Beth and I lived in Illinois, anytime we wanted to come back to Iowa we had to take Highway 20 from Rockford to Dubuque, and that meant we had to go through Galena.

Now, a lot of people tell me that the area around Galena is pretty because it has a lot of hills and pretty views, but I hate it. As far as I'm concerned the hills just mean you have to go in directions you don't want to go. When I look at a map of Highway 20 in the area east of Galena, all I see is that you make a big loop south and then north again before you actually get there, and to me that's a lot of wasted miles.

So one day Beth and I were driving back to Iowa, and trying to get there in a hurry. I looked at the map, and saw wasted time. So I decided I would keep going west when Highway 20 went south, and I'd just drive on county roads and gravel straight to Galena.

Well, I'm used to the roads in NW Iowa which go straight. But when you get up in those hills those roads start to go all over. Before I knew what had happened I was wandering around like the men in verse 12, north to east to south to west to north again. We spent about an hour out in those hills until we finally "staggered" back out on Highway 20 about 7 miles from where we had left it. As you can imagine, Beth was very impressed by my shortcut.

That is what happens to people when they no longer hear God's word, they lose their way. Nations, communities, and churches which suffer from a famine of hearing God's word lose direction, they wander aimlessly without purpose or objective. There is no foundational truth and thus no foundation from which to build.

And so, as we ask why preaching is important, I think it is safe to say from this verse that when God’s word is preached, people find their direction. If in the absence of hearing God's Word the people stagger and wander without purpose, then we can conclude that when the people hear God's Word they are provided with direction.

Preaching is one of the ways God uses to keep His people on the same page. It’s a rallying point for the church, week after week, for us to be reminded of how great God is, how amazing His grace is, and how good his plan is for our lives. It reminds us of why we worship, of why we serve, of why we belong to one another.

Preaching is one of the ways that God helps us to take the focus off ourselves. If we tried to do Christianity on our own, our vision of the world would get pretty narrow. We’d be worried about our personal concerns, and maybe those of our family. But preaching helps us see God’s larger purposes, to remember that it’s not all about us.

Every Sunday morning then is like a "compass check" for the Christian. Hearing the Word of God--listening to good, Biblical preaching--is an opportunity to check the course of our lives and to keep them in the direction they are supposed to be.

Preaching is important, because it helps us find our direction.

Living Water

II. Let’s move on to verse 13:

In that day the lovely young women and strong young men will faint because of thirst.

Here’s the second calamity that comes when there is a famine of hearing God’s word: when people no longer hear God's word they "faint." I understand that to mean they will lose their vitality, their energy. In other words, when we lose out on hearing God’s word, we lose our strength.

It is noteworthy that the people who Amos says will faint are the "lovely young women and the strong young men." In a literal famine or a literal drought it is the young people whom you would expect to fair the best. The pretty young girls and the strong young boys are the most vital and vigorous of the people. They are the ones who have the energy to hunt down food or dig for water. By saying that they will be the ones to "faint" from thirst, then, God is saying something about the extent and the severity of the spiritual famine He will send.

But more than that, He is making a statement about the loss of the nation's very vitality. If a nation loses its youth, it loses its strength. And for Israel, its strength had always been the blessing of God.

Now think about that: what if God takes his blessing way?

This is a horrible thing to contemplate for the Church, and yet it is not too difficult to survey the American religious landscape and see denominations that have lost the blessing of God. Many of the old mainline churches of North America are in a steady decline of membership. Churches are being closed on a regular basis.

It is not too surprising that many of these same denominations are denominations which have given up the solid, confident preaching of the Bible. They have turned their backs on God's Word and--either because of their own choice or because of God's will, I would suggest it is a case of both--there has been a famine of hearing God's word in their churches. As a result, they have lost their vitality, they have lost their strength. They have fainted.

And so, again, as we search for the significance of preaching, I think it is safe to say that when God’s word is preached, people find life. If in the absence of hearing God's Word people faint and lose their vitality, then I think we can conclude that where God's Word is heard there is strength and life.

Preaching is where we hear the gospel. Preaching is where we are reminded of God’s grace to us.
in John 4, Jesus calls himself “Living Water” and says that everyone who drinks the water He offers will never thirst again. He says that the water He offers will lead to eternal life. (John 4:14) Listening to preaching is one of the ways that we come to the well to drink again and again.

We cannot simply conclude that just because God’s Word is faithfully preached there will automatically be blessing in a church; but I think we can be certain that there will not be blessing where God's Word is not heard.

Preaching is important, because it brings our souls living water. Preaching brings life to a church, and to a Christian.

Turn Back

III. Third, let’s look at verse 14:

They who swear by the shame of Samaria, or say, "As surely as your god lives, O Dan," or, "As surely as the god of Beersheba lives"--they will fall, never to rise again.

I understand this verse to be saying that when there is a famine of hearing God’s Word, people will be abandoned to their sins. "They will fall, never to rise again."

Samaria, Dan and Beersheba were all centers of idol worship in ancient Israel. They housed shrines to local gods and provided alternative sites for worship for those who didn’t want to make the trip to the temple in Jerusalem.

But as far as God was concerned, people who visited those shrines were two-timing Him. It’s like they were carrying on an extra-marital affair. And He doesn’t like it. Remember, He calls Himself a “jealous” God in the Ten Commandments. This idol worship is one of the reasons Amos is announcing judgment in the first place.

So now he says that those who swear by these false gods, those who make oaths by saying, "As surely as your god lives, O Dan" or "As surely as the god of Beersheba lives"--these people, these idol worshippers, are going to fall never to rise again.

And it seems to me that God is saying: "O.K., if you prefer to worship these idols, then I will leave you to them. I will let you have your false gods. And then we'll see what they can do for you. We'll see if they really live or not. Because they don't, and when I abandon you to them you will fall, you will have no help, and you will never rise again."

In other words, the people who no longer hear God's Word will be abandoned to their sins. And once they are abandoned to their sins, they will be abandoned to the consequences of those sins. Consequences which can only be utter self-destruction.

And so, again, as we search for the significance of preaching, I think it is safe to say that when God’s word is preached, people are called out of darkness. If in the absence of hearing God's Word people are abandoned to sin and its consequences, then I think we can conclude that where God's Word is heard there is warning and caution against sin.

Where God's Word is preached clearly and unashamedly there cannot help but be bold and uncompromising language against sin. God's holy Word calls us to holiness. God's Word convicts.

I don’t want to be a hellfire and brimstone kind of preacher. I don’t think any of us want to be in a church that’s only known for what it’s against. There are too many stereotypes of preachers who can only yell at people and tell them what they’re doing wrong.

And yet, God’s word is clear, there are some activities God just won’t tolerate. He hates idolatry. He despises selfishness. He detests injustice. I tremble to think what would happen if God just abandoned us to our sins.

And so, sometimes we need God’s word to come and nail us to the pew, as it were. We need sin to be called sin. We need to be called out of darkness, back into the light.

Action Steps

So when we talk about why we have preaching, I think it is clear from these verses in Amos that hearing God's word is as spiritually significant as eating and drinking is physically significant. Without hearing God's word we are lost, we are weak, and we are left to our sins. The regular hearing of God’s Word preached is a vital part of our spiritual diet.

So what should we do? What action should you take on account of this sermon? Briefly, I have three action steps that we can all take.

1. First, make regular reading of the scripture a habit. The reason preaching is important, of course, is because we are talking about the proclamation of God’s Word. It is the Bible—the holy, inspired, infallible word of God—that gives us direction and life and calls us out of darkness. So it is important that every Christian is finding a way to regularly take God’s word in—to chew on it, if you will.

And this works best when you make regular reading of the scripture a habit. Make it a part of your regular routine. 15 minutes a day. A chapter or two a day. Use a devotional book, like Words of Hope. Whatever works for you.

Some days, you’ll spend that 15 minutes and not much will happen. You’ll forget what you read as soon as you move on to the next thing in your schedule. But sometimes, God will grab you and get your attention, and you’ll get something that can carry you through your whole day. But, whatever happens, just like you wouldn’t skip a meal, make a point of reading your Bible on a regular basis.

2. Second action step: Make attendance at church on Sunday a priority. There is something about sitting in the community of believers and hearing God’s Word proclaimed that is especially nutritious for our souls. It’s like Sunday dinner with your family—the family of God.

Now, obviously, I’m prejudiced. I’m the preacher, of course I would want you to be here on Sundays. But setting that aside, I really do think regular attendance at worship is an important spiritual discipline. We’ve seen in Amos what happens when there is a famine of hearing God’s word. You wouldn’t choose to live in famine conditions when it comes to your physical diet, why would you choose a spiritual famine?

And not just here, if you find yourself out of town or on vacation, I still think it’s important to find a church to attend. Who knows, maybe you’ll get some ideas for how preaching should go that you can come back and share with me.

3. Then, third and finally, Be an active, engaged listener. If you are going to benefit from a sermon, then you have to pay attention.

Believe me, I know how easy it is to be in church and to zone out during the sermon. When I was a kid, I was great day dreamer. Sunday mornings were when I used to imagine what would happen if the Russians attacked. (I grew up in the 80s, at the height of the cold war). I would day dream about being some sort of freedom fighter, just like in the movie Red Dawn. And every Sunday morning, when the sermon started, was when I would mentally check out.

But I was cheating myself. And it wasn’t the preacher’s fault that I wasn’t paying attention.

Communication is a two way street, kind of like playing catch with a ball. Not only do you have to have someone speaking—or throwing the ball—but for communication to really happen you also have to have someone listening—or catching the ball. And just like catching a ball is an active process, so is listening. It’s something you have to work at.

So be an active listener. Follow along in the text. Ask question in your mind like: why did he say that? Is that really true? Take notes, if that helps you stay engaged.

We may not remember every sermon we hear, but if we listen actively and attentively—and if the preacher does his job--we are fed and nourished each time we go to church.