Our country is facing perilous times when it comes to effective, Christ-centered leadership. We are observing more organizations, institutions, businesses, and entire communities suffering from the lack of biblical leadership as these organizations continue to normalize immorality and promote ungodliness among the people. The church has also fallen victim to this same famine of Biblical leadership as we observe more churches pursuing secular models of leadership versus the model given to us by Jesus Christ. Dr. John MacArthur made a similar observation about these perilous times as he states,
People become Desperate: Confusion Increases, Direction Decreases
It is important to recognize that in times of a spiritual famine, people become desperate. Desperate people often will fill their life with anything that might bring them hope or peace for a moment, even if it is polluted. The words of Amos 8:12 [2] remind us that in times of this type of a famine then people will seek the word of the Lord but will not find it. Why? Because they seek the Word of the Lord as a means to get what they want out of life but fail to seek the Lord with a willing, humble, and obedient heart.
People become Dangerous: Immorality Increases, Righteousness Decreases
We also observe that another result of a spiritual famine is that people become more afraid of the world and less afraid of the Lord. This leads to an increase in immorality and a decrease in the righteous pursuit of the Lord. Consider the importance of learning to fear the Lord from Proverbs 9:10, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight."
Death: Sin Increases, Faith, Truth, & Salvation Decreases
The final result of a famine of hearing the Word of the Lord is that faith decreases in the land. We understand from Scripture that “faith comes by hearing the Word of Christ” (Romans 10:17) and that “we are saved by God’s grace through faith”(Ephesians 2:8). This means that without the hearing of the Word of God then people will perish. In the midst of a famine of hearing the Word of God then we observe that sin increases (the wages of sin is death – Romans 6:23) and that salvation decreases.
Solution to the Famine
The only solution to this famine in the land is found with churches that desire to turn back to the clear proclamation of the Word of God in a manner that leads to daily application in the life of each Christian. This can only be accomplished with the raising up of a new generation of Christians that desire to apply the leadership model of Christ instead of a secular model. This model has at its foundation "expository preaching and teaching" from each and every pulpit. Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, preacher of Westminster Chapel in London, once stated while lecturing at Westminster Theological Seminary,
Bibliography
[1] John MacArthur, The Book on Leadership: The Power of a Godly Influence (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2004), 2-4.
[2] Amos 8:12 – They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, to seek the word of the Lord, but they shall not find it.
[3] Steven J. Lawson, Famine in the Land: A Passionate Call for Expository Preaching (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2003).
- "A crisis of leadership faces both the world and the church. As I write these words, the headlines in the secular press are all about leaders in the corporate world who have been guilty of appalling moral negligence. They have bankrupted major corporations because of their own personal greed. They have engaged in illegal insider trading. They have lied, cheated, stolen, and swindled. The scope and scale of corporate corruption in the world today are almost inconceivable…In the visible church, sadly, things are little better. The televangelist scandals of the 1980's seem to be all but forgotten. Nothing much really changed in the wake of the scandals. If anything, the state of so-called “Christian” television is far worse than it was before. Most Christian TV celebrities are still making greedy, nonstop appeals for money. Christian recording artists keep embarrassing the church with scandalous moral failures. And we still regularly hear of pastors who discredit their ministries and disqualify themselves by defaulting in the one thing that matters most in leadership: character."[1]
People become Desperate: Confusion Increases, Direction Decreases
It is important to recognize that in times of a spiritual famine, people become desperate. Desperate people often will fill their life with anything that might bring them hope or peace for a moment, even if it is polluted. The words of Amos 8:12 [2] remind us that in times of this type of a famine then people will seek the word of the Lord but will not find it. Why? Because they seek the Word of the Lord as a means to get what they want out of life but fail to seek the Lord with a willing, humble, and obedient heart.
People become Dangerous: Immorality Increases, Righteousness Decreases
We also observe that another result of a spiritual famine is that people become more afraid of the world and less afraid of the Lord. This leads to an increase in immorality and a decrease in the righteous pursuit of the Lord. Consider the importance of learning to fear the Lord from Proverbs 9:10, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight."
Death: Sin Increases, Faith, Truth, & Salvation Decreases
The final result of a famine of hearing the Word of the Lord is that faith decreases in the land. We understand from Scripture that “faith comes by hearing the Word of Christ” (Romans 10:17) and that “we are saved by God’s grace through faith”(Ephesians 2:8). This means that without the hearing of the Word of God then people will perish. In the midst of a famine of hearing the Word of God then we observe that sin increases (the wages of sin is death – Romans 6:23) and that salvation decreases.
Solution to the Famine
The only solution to this famine in the land is found with churches that desire to turn back to the clear proclamation of the Word of God in a manner that leads to daily application in the life of each Christian. This can only be accomplished with the raising up of a new generation of Christians that desire to apply the leadership model of Christ instead of a secular model. This model has at its foundation "expository preaching and teaching" from each and every pulpit. Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, preacher of Westminster Chapel in London, once stated while lecturing at Westminster Theological Seminary,
- “The most urgent need in the Christian Church today is true preaching; and as it is the greatest and the most urgent need in the Church, it is the greatest need of the world also." [3]
Bibliography
[1] John MacArthur, The Book on Leadership: The Power of a Godly Influence (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2004), 2-4.
[2] Amos 8:12 – They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, to seek the word of the Lord, but they shall not find it.
[3] Steven J. Lawson, Famine in the Land: A Passionate Call for Expository Preaching (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2003).
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