There is a Famine in the Land

General Session #8

Steve Lawson

 Famine in the Land (Amos 8)

How many churches would you recommend people to attend in Jacksonville or Orange Park? This is a testimony of Amos 8:11-12.

Israel had the Word of God but would not hear or heed the Word of God. There was an external show of religion, but not heart set wholly upon God. Surely we are living in such days, witnessing a spiritual famine in the land. The utter absence of biblical preaching in the evangelical pulpit has resulted in Christ’s Church being malnourished, being fed spiritual junk food. We have exchanged biblical preaching for behavior modification; the supremacy of God for the supremacy of man; theology for methodology.

1)       V. 11 The certainty of the famine: God is the speaker and declares with infallible certainty (v. 11) that a spiritual famine is coming. It is God Himself who says it is coming (Numbers 23:19).

2)       V. 11 The controller of the famine: God is the One who sends the famine. When it comes it will break with divine fury and divine power that will hit with great power upon the land. It will be a divine visitation from heaven and will strike the land. In the Northern Kingdom prophet after prophet was sent and God’s Word was offered abundantly, but the people turned a deaf ear. God takes His preachers and chooses them and sovereignly sends them forth. God also withdraws His preachers.

3)       V. 11 The character of the famine: Not bread or water, but a famine of God’s Word. There is no worse judgment (fire, drought, death, tsunami, earthquake) than the removal of God’s Word. You cannot live spiritually without the Word of God – it would be much better to be without food or drink. Worse than strong words of judgment are to hear no words at all. God was promising to leave people to their own desires. Doctrine has been replaced with drama; theology has given was to theatrics; preaching has given was to performances – God’s Word is no longer the focal point of our Churches.