Introduction: The Nature of Problems

Problems abound in every area of life, and human efforts have failed to solve them. A problem is only a problem when you don't know what to do; God's answers differ from man's.

I want you to open your Bibles tonight, if you would please, to Isaiah 55. And the message tonight, I hope, will tie together everything that I've tried to teach you this week. I usually dread the last night, only because there's so much I want to teach and share, and I'm down to just one final message. And sometimes that's exceedingly difficult in the sense that there's just so much left to teach. But if you look at Isaiah 55, I want to deal tonight with a message entitled "God's Answer to America's Problems." God's answer to America's problems. So look at Isaiah 55, beginning there with verse 8. God says,

It shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereunto I send it." You and I could literally sit here tonight and discuss problem after problem. Problems abound on every hand. I don't care if we talk about economic problems, governmental problems, immigration problems, marital problems, discipline problems, educational problems. Those are just a few. There are problems in every area of life. And in reality, in our land today, there are so many problems, and I would add pressing problems, that must be dealt with and answers given to those problems in order to alleviate them. The interesting thing is this. If one does not even consider the fraud, the corruption, the crime, and rebellion in this country, we still have enough problems just simply to lay us low. And when you look at the problems that we face, and I'm talking about now as a whole, as a country, when you look at the problems that we face, you have to admit that as a whole, we have failed. We have failed as men trying to work out our problems politically, governmentally, economically, and every other area as well.

We have those problems, and we're in a mess, and we don't know which way to turn. So it's time to face one simple fact. Political parties are not going to save us. They're just not going to save us. I certainly believe, like Brother Ted said, we ought to always stand and we ought to promote good men and we ought to stand with them and behind them and support them and help them and fulfill our responsibility. But no one party is going to save us. We also have to admit that we cannot save ourselves. We cannot pull ourselves up by the bootstraps. No, we have our problems.

But have you ever stopped to think about this? A problem is not a problem if you know what to do. The only time you have problems is when you don't know what to do. I'm not a mechanic, I'm not mechanically inclined at all, and something could go wrong with my automobile and I drift over beside the road and all I know to do is raise my hood and see if there are any loose wires and jiggle here and jiggle there. I'm not a mechanic. And I might be sitting beside the road for four or five hours waiting for someone to come help me. When a mechanic driving my car, the same thing could happen. He could open the hood, adjust whatever needs to be adjusted, get back in and drive off. It was not a problem for him. Why?

Simply because he knew exactly what to do. You see, God's answers to our sins and God's answers to our dilemmas and our problems are far different than man's answers. We have in this sermon tonight an age-old contest between theonomy and autonomy. And theonomy, I mean God's law, the totality of God's word. And when you talk about autonomy, you're talking about man's law or man's will and man's way. Like Adam, our problem is that we have desired our will and our way and our word above God's. We're like

The Contest Between Theonomy and Autonomy

Man's way does not work because disobedience brings God's curses. Deuteronomy 11 and 28 show that blessings follow obedience and curses follow disobedience, both individually and nationally.

Isaiah, when Isaiah declared that all of us have turned, every one of us, after the imagination of his own wicked heart. We've turned, every one of us, to his own way. You remember the theme of the book of Judges. You'll find it in Judges 17, verse 6, and also in Judges 25, where there was no king in Israel in those days, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes. And there's something that we need to understand, and that is simply this. Man's way does not work, will not work, and cannot work because man's disobedience is always under the negative sanctions of God. Let me show you. Look in your Bibles, hold Isaiah 55, but look in your Bibles, please, to the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 11. And notice, if you would please, beginning there in verse 27. Deuteronomy, chapter 11, in verse 27. In fact, let's begin reading with verse 26, Deuteronomy 11 in verse 26. God says this.

"Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse. Now look, a blessing if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you this day and a curse if you will not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day to go after other gods which you have not known." So God says, I've just set before you a blessing and a curse. And it's really very simple, says God. If you obey me, then you're going to have blessings. If you disobey me, then you're going to have curses over and over in the Bible. I don't care which book you turn to. I don't care which testament you're in. You're going to find this principle that God's blessings always follow obedience and God's curses always follow disobedience.

And the fact is, that is true not only individually, but familially, ecclesiastically and nationally. It's true in our families. It's true in our churches. It's true in our nation.

Now, I want you to look in your Bibles to Deuteronomy 28, since you're there. Deuteronomy 28. And, of course, this passage deals with the blessings and the curses. I find it interesting that the first 13 verses basically deal with obedience, and then the rest of the entire chapter deals with disobedience. And God promises his blessings if we obey. God promises his curses if we disobey. Now, there's an interesting word that is found in Deuteronomy 28 and verse, let's see, it is verse 2. Look at it. God says,

Now, I want you to note if you would the word "overtake." Now, God says, if you diligently obey my voice, look in verse 1, "if thou shalt diligently hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all the nations."

So he's talking about a national blessing here. "And all these blessings shall come on thee and overtake thee if thou shalt hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God." And then he lists a number of those blessings on down through verse 13 and 14. Now, let me tell you something about the word "overtake." The Hebrew word for the word "overtake" is the word "nassag," and it literally means to overtake. To take hold upon, to catch up with. Let me try to illustrate it like this. Here you are or here your family or this church or even this nation. Here you are obeying God and bringing your life in conformity to His Word, and here you are running down the road trying to outrun the blessings of God. The word "overtake" literally means this. God said that His blessings will outrun you, overtake you, knock you down, fall all over you, and there's not one thing you can do about it. But if you look in verse 15, there's an interesting word here.

"But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day, that all these curses shall come upon thee and what? Overtake thee." Do you know it's the same Hebrew word? God says, here you are as an individual. Here you are as a family. Here you are as a church. Here we are as a nation. And we're disobeying God left-handed and right-handed. And we're running down the road as fast as we can, trying to escape the curses of God. And God said, let me tell you, my curses will overtake you, run you down and fall all over you. And there's not one thing you can do about it. It really doesn't matter whether you obey or disobey in one sense of the word, because you cannot escape the sanctions of God, you cannot outrun the positive sanctions, nor can you outrun the negative sanctions. Everyone is under the sanctions of God, either positively or negatively.

Now, the Puritans used to have an old saying, and I really love the old saying. They said this, "I have wonderful news for sinners if I can only find one." You say, well, wait a minute, Brother Weaver. All you've got to do is look around. All you've got to do is get on the street. All you've got to do is go to any city. You'll find sinners everywhere.

Five Biblical Problems and God's Answer

In five Old Testament crises—Israel's slavery, Midianite oppression, corrupt priesthood, David's sin, and Ahab/Jezebel's tyranny—God's answer was always to send a preacher.

Israel is in Egypt and she is enslaved, overworked, misused, hated, despised and persecuted. So here you are Exodus chapter 2 and notice if you would please beginning there with verse 23.

Now, you know, when Pharaoh died, a new Pharaoh arose who knew not Joseph, and he enslaved all of these people, and now here they are, grinding and groaning because of their bondage, of their oppression. And God hears their cry. God says, "I'm going to do something about that." Now, let me ask you, what do you suppose that God is going to do? Is God going to send an angelic host and smite all of Egypt and destroy them?

No, he could have done that. Is God going to send a massive earthquake and literally rim that land in two? No. He could have done that, but he did not do that. Did God send a foreign army to annihilate every Egyptian? No, he did not. He could have done that, but that's not what he did.

Now remember, the people are groaning and crying. Let's find out what God did. Look in verse 1 of chapter 3. "Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the backside of the desert and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush, and he looked, and behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed."

Now skip down to verse 7. "And the Lord said," talking to Moses, "I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows, and I am come down to deliver them out of the land of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land into a good land and a large, into a land flowing with milk and honey, unto the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites." "Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me. And I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them. Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt." You know what God just did? Are you listening? God sent him a preacher. He did. Moses was a prophet.

Look in your Bibles to Deuteronomy 18. Deuteronomy chapter 18. And notice if you would, beginning there with verse 17. Deuteronomy 18 verse 17. Here's what Moses says. Verse 17,

That's going to be a prophet like Moses was a prophet.

Note God said, "I'm going to raise up a prophet like Moses." Look in Deuteronomy 34 and verse 10. Deuteronomy 34 and verse 10. Deuteronomy 34 verse 10, "And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face." And when you get to the book of Hosea chapter 12 and verse 13, the Bible says, "By a prophet the Lord God brought Israel out of Egypt." So Moses is called a prophet or a preacher of righteousness. Now, God did not use the military. God did not use a vast bureaucracy. God did not send a committee. Praise his name for that. Had he done so, they'd still been there trying to figure out the best route to take. God did not send supernatural powers, per se, instantaneously, earthquakes, etc. No, no, no. What did God do? God sent a preacher.

Now, let me ask you a question. Why did God send the preacher? Well, I'm going to give you the answer to that a little bit later, but I'm sure you probably already know the answer. OK, so let's go to problem number two, and I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Judges chapter 6. Judges chapter 6. Here's the second problem. Israel is now in the promised land, but instead of obeying God and his law, they have become extremely disobedient. They've turned from God. They worshipped Baal. And God has delivered them over into the hands of their enemies, and they're being greatly oppressed. If you look in Judges 6 and verse 1, "And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years. And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. And because of the Midianites, the children of Israel made them dens, which are in the mountains and caves and strongholds." By the way, that's pretty bad when you have to flee from your home, flee from your farm and go to the mountain and hide in a cave or dig a hole somewhere to keep the Midianites from not only killing you and raping your family, but taking everything that you have.

So watch verse 3, "And so it was when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them, and they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou comest to Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither for sheep, ox, nor ass." Nothing was left when they got through. Now look, "For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came up as grasshoppers for multitude. For both they and their camels came without number, and they entered into the land to destroy it. And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites and the children of Israel cried to the Lord."

Now, boy, you talk about a similar situation we have in our land today. Goodness gracious, all of our substance is eaten up. It's taken from us. You end up working six to seven months out of the year just to pay taxes, folks. You look at the people who are afraid to stay in their own homes. You look at the people that have to do everything imaginable just to protect themselves from our own government.

Now, all I'm saying is this oppression was so horrible and so awful that verse 6 says that Israel was greatly impoverished and verse 7 it says, "When the children of Israel cried unto the Lord," I mean, they were ready now for some help and deliverance. I want you to note what God did. Look in verse 8. After they cried to the Lord, then the Lord sent a prophet unto the children of Israel, who said unto them, "Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt and brought you forth out of the house of bondage, and I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, out of the hand of all that oppressed you, and drave them out from before you, and gave you their land. And I said unto you, I am the Lord your God.

Fear not the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell, but you have not obeyed my voice." Isn't that amazing? God didn't send the militia. God didn't send the military. God didn't send another foreign army in there, he did not raise someone up to lead a revolution. No, what did he do? He sent a preacher.

Now, let me ask you a question. Why did God send the preacher? Why did God send the preacher? You probably know the answer, but I'm going to answer it a little bit later. Here's the third problem. The third problem deals with the corruption of the ministry. Look in your Bibles to 1 Samuel chapter 2. You're talking about something that's very appropriate today when we talk about the corruption of the ministry. We see how applicable the Word of God is to our modern day problems.

Dishonest, immoral, corrupt, and wicked ministers abound today exactly as they did in Old Testament and New Testament times as well. Now look in 1 Samuel chapter 2 and let's begin reading there with verse 12.

and you know who they are, Hophni and Phinehas.

They were priests, but they were not even converted. Boy, you mean, Brother Weaver, there's a lot of preachers in this country that's not saved? Oh, yeah. I can assure you. Watch verse 13,

That was the custom. So they did in Shiloh to all the Israelites that came thither. And before they burned the fat, the priest's servant came. Now watch.

It's a little different now. "And the priest's servant came and said to the man that sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for the priest. He'll not have it sodden of thee, but raw." In other words, he didn't want any boiled meat. He wanted something to put on the grill.

Now watch verse 16, "And if any man said unto him, Let them not fail to burn the fat presently, then take as much as thy soul desireth. Then he would answer, Nay, but thou shalt give it me now. If not, I'll take it by force. Wherefore, the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord, for men abhorred the offering of the Lord." You know what I hear people say everywhere I go? "I just hate going to church. I just can't stomach what I've been hearing and all that's going on and all the corruption." I hear that everywhere I go. You would be amazed at how many phone calls I get every week from people in every state saying, "Pastor, do you know any decent church in my area that will preach and teach the Word of God?" Skip down, if you would, please, to verse 22.

"Now, Eli was very old and heard all that his sons did in all Israel and how they lay with the women that assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And he said to them, Why did you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings with all these people. Nay, my sons, for it is no good report that I hear: you make the Lord's people to transgress." "If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him. But if a man sin against the Lord, who shall entreat for him? Notwithstanding, they hearkened not to the voice of their father, because the Lord would slay them." So here these priests then were not only thieves and then not only caused people to despise the ministry of God, here they are immoral, committing fornication, adultery, even at the very door of the tabernacle.

Skip down to verse 27. "There came a man of God unto Eli and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Did I plainly appear unto the house of thy father when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh's house? And did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer upon mine altar to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? And did I give unto the house of thy father all the offerings made by fire of the children of Israel? Now look what God says, Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifices, and at mine offering, which I have commanded to my habitation, and honorest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people. Wherefore, the Lord God of Israel said, I said indeed that thy house and the house of thy father should walk before me forever. But now the Lord said, be it far from me for them that honor me I will honor, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed."

Now the sins of Hophni and Phinehas were great. And their corruption back then has a striking parallel to what is going on in our country today. Preachers are falling like flies. If they're not running off with some woman, they're running off with some man. Or they're stealing. They're corrupt. Have you ever wondered what in the world is happening? Let me tell you something. When you denounce and deny and denigrate God's standard, when you will not listen to God's law or God's word, it's only so that you might elevate your own standard. You're either going to follow God's law or your law. You're either going to follow God's word or your word. Here's a corruption of the ministry and we see that what in the world did God do? Well, you know what God did? God raised him up another preacher.

And he sent that little preacher. Look in 1 Samuel chapter 3 verse 1,

Now skip down to verse 20. Same chapter. 1 Samuel 3.

Now why? In the face of the corruption of the ministry, did God raise up and send another preacher?

I'll tell you the answer to that in just a minute, but I'm sure you probably already know it. Let's talk about problem number four. I want you to turn to 2 Samuel chapter 12. I mentioned this one briefly last night, but I want you to see it in the context. 2 Samuel chapter 12. In fact, let's begin with chapter 11 first, then we'll go to chapter 12. Here's problem number four.

The highest governmental leader has sinned. Now, you talk about being applicable. Not only has the highest governmental leader sinned, he is also guilty of treason. And he's also guilty of adultery and murder. That's really applicable today, isn't it? He's tried to hide his rebellion. He's tried to hide his sin. But his top military commander knows all about it, and thus he's in danger of being blackmailed. You know the story.

Look in chapter 11 verse 1,

And she came in unto him, and he lay with her, for she was purified from her uncleanness, and she returned to her own house. And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child. And you know the story, how David now sends for Uriah, her husband, and tries to pretend like he just wants to find out how the battle is going, and thinks Uriah is just going to go home, but Uriah just sleeps at the doorstep of the king.

He won't go home. And David said, "Uriah, I don't understand this. You come home from your battle and you won't even go home to your wife?" He said, "God forbid it." He said, "As long as the ark of my God and Joab and Israel is in the battle, I'm not going to go home and enjoy myself while the ark of God is..." Listen, Uriah had more character than David at this point. And you know, the next thing David did, tried to make him drunk. And still, when he made him drunk, he would not go home. And finally, he sent a note to Joab said, "Put Uriah in the foremost front of the battle and retire from him that he may be smitten." You know what David had done? David had not only committed adultery and murder, but he had basically also committed treason. What he did was treasonous, not only toward God, but toward the nation and toward the people that he was supposed to protect and lead. What did God do?

Look in chapter 12, verse 1. "And the Lord sent Nathan unto David." And you know the story. But notice what God did. The Lord sent a preacher. When the highest civil ruler had committed treason and murder and adultery, God sent a preacher. Why? Why did he send the preacher? Well, I'll answer in a minute, but I'm sure you probably already know the answer. Let's look at problem number five. Wicked, vile persons have taken over the civil government.

Boy, that is applicable, isn't it? Go ahead and turn in your Bibles, if you would, to 1 Kings, chapter 19. 1 Kings, chapter 19. Here's the problem. Wicked, vile persons have taken over the civil government. They are oppressing the people. They're killing. They're stealing. They're ruling tyrannically. God's preachers are being killed. They're being imprisoned. They're being run out of the country while false prophets are being elevated and while they're feeding at the governmental trough.

Moreover, neighboring kingdoms have been following suit, so much so that there is absolutely no peace in the region. Now, you would think this is a great problem, and this problem requires great concentration and great deliberation and specific planning. Well, let's look in 1 Kings chapter 19. You already know who the two wicked people are who took over the government. 1 Kings 19 verse 1,

that is the prophets of Baal.

Now, I want you to notice Elijah is the prophet. Elijah has killed the 450 prophets of Baal. And when Ahab tells Jezebel what has happened, and by the way, you know who's running things when he goes home and tells Jezebel, she says, "The Lord do so to me tomorrow. If you're not like one of those prophets, Elijah, oh boy, I got news for you. By this time tomorrow, you're going to be dead." She'd killed a lot of others. Elijah believed her. And he took off. And you know the story, how God came to him as he was resting under the juniper tree and saying, "Elijah, what are you doing here?" And then God fed him and God watered him and God sent him to the mountain. Look in your Bibles, if you would. 1 Kings chapter 19. And let's begin reading there in verse 11. He's at the mountain. In fact, let's read verse 10. Here's what Elijah tells God when God asked him, what's he doing there? And he said,

And I, even I only, am left and they seek my life to take it away." God, I'm the only one left. How many of us have ever thought that? We're the only ones that are standing for righteousness and truth. We're all by ourselves. Let me tell you something that might encourage you. I hope it will. I travel all over this country. And I find people just like you everywhere that know the truth and believe the truth and are standing for the truth. Listen, what we do is we think this is just our community. I got news. It's not just us anymore. We have people who believe God's word and are standing for truth all through this country. They may be in small numbers, but they're all through this country. I meet them everywhere I go. Elijah said, "I'm the only one."

Skip down to verse 11. "And God said, Go forth and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And behold, the Lord passed by and a great and strong wind rent the mountains and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord. But the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind was an earthquake, the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake a fire, the Lord was not in fire. And after the fire a still small voice. Now watch this verse 13. And it was so when Elijah heard it that he wrapped his face in the mantle and went out and stood in the entering into the cave. And behold, there came a voice unto him and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?"

Then he said, "I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts, because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword. And I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life to take it away. And the Lord said unto him, Now look, go return on the way to the wilderness of Damascus. And when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria. And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel. And Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room. Now watch verse 17, and it shall come to pass that him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay, and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay." Wow. Now, what did God do when Elijah ran? He said, "Lord, I'm the only one left." God says, "Oh, no, Elijah, you know, I've got seven thousand.

It's not about the knee to Baal. But I tell you what you do, Elijah. I want you to go anoint two kings for me. You anoint Hazael king over Syria, Jehu king over Israel, and then you anoint Elisha to be prophet in your place."

Now, I want you to note, out of these five problems, in each instance, God's answer to every one of them was to send a preacher. Why? Don't you remember our text, Isaiah 55 verses 8 and 9? "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your thoughts." You see, God's answers are not necessarily man's answers. And therefore, God always sends a preacher to declare His Word and give His answer to the problem. And in doing so, the preacher then demands repentance and obedience. Now, let's review these five problems and let me show you something about them. First of all, problem one, you remember that Israel is down in Egypt and now they're enslaved and God demanded that Pharaoh allow Israel to go free. But the Egyptians refused and Pharaoh refused. He said in chapter 5, verse 2, "I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go."

Problem One: Israel Enslaved in Egypt

God heard Israel's cry and sent Moses, a prophet, to deliver them, not an army or supernatural intervention.

Israel is in Egypt and she is enslaved, overworked, misused, hated, despised and persecuted. So here you are Exodus chapter 2 and notice if you would please beginning there with verse 23.

Now, you know, when Pharaoh died, a new Pharaoh arose who knew not Joseph, and he enslaved all of these people, and now here they are, grinding and groaning because of their bondage, of their oppression. And God hears their cry. God says, "I'm going to do something about that." Now, let me ask you, what do you suppose that God is going to do? Is God going to send an angelic host and smite all of Egypt and destroy them?

No, he could have done that. Is God going to send a massive earthquake and literally rim that land in two? No. He could have done that, but he did not do that. Did God send a foreign army to annihilate every Egyptian? No, he did not. He could have done that, but that's not what he did.

Now remember, the people are groaning and crying. Let's find out what God did. Look in verse 1 of chapter 3. "Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the backside of the desert and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush, and he looked, and behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed."

Now skip down to verse 7. "And the Lord said," talking to Moses, "I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows, and I am come down to deliver them out of the land of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land into a good land and a large, into a land flowing with milk and honey, unto the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites." "Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me. And I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them. Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt." You know what God just did? Are you listening? God sent him a preacher. He did. Moses was a prophet.

Look in your Bibles to Deuteronomy 18. Deuteronomy chapter 18. And notice if you would, beginning there with verse 17. Deuteronomy 18 verse 17. Here's what Moses says. Verse 17,

That's going to be a prophet like Moses was a prophet.

Note God said, "I'm going to raise up a prophet like Moses." Look in Deuteronomy 34 and verse 10. Deuteronomy 34 and verse 10. Deuteronomy 34 verse 10, "And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face." And when you get to the book of Hosea chapter 12 and verse 13, the Bible says, "By a prophet the Lord God brought Israel out of Egypt." So Moses is called a prophet or a preacher of righteousness. Now, God did not use the military. God did not use a vast bureaucracy. God did not send a committee. Praise his name for that. Had he done so, they'd still been there trying to figure out the best route to take. God did not send supernatural powers, per se, instantaneously, earthquakes, etc. No, no, no. What did God do? God sent a preacher.

Now, let me ask you a question. Why did God send the preacher? Well, I'm going to give you the answer to that a little bit later, but I'm sure you probably already know the answer. OK, so let's go to problem number two, and I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Judges chapter 6. Judges chapter 6. Here's the second problem. Israel is now in the promised land, but instead of obeying God and his law, they have become extremely disobedient. They've turned from God. They worshipped Baal. And God has delivered them over into the hands of their enemies, and they're being greatly oppressed. If you look in Judges 6 and verse 1, "And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years. And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. And because of the Midianites, the children of Israel made them dens, which are in the mountains and caves and strongholds." By the way, that's pretty bad when you have to flee from your home, flee from your farm and go to the mountain and hide in a cave or dig a hole somewhere to keep the Midianites from not only killing you and raping your family, but taking everything that you have.

Problem Two: Midianite Oppression

When Israel cried out under Midianite oppression, God sent a prophet to confront their disobedience, not a military solution.

So watch verse 3, "And so it was when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them, and they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou comest to Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither for sheep, ox, nor ass." Nothing was left when they got through. Now look, "For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came up as grasshoppers for multitude. For both they and their camels came without number, and they entered into the land to destroy it. And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites and the children of Israel cried to the Lord."

Now, boy, you talk about a similar situation we have in our land today. Goodness gracious, all of our substance is eaten up. It's taken from us. You end up working six to seven months out of the year just to pay taxes, folks. You look at the people who are afraid to stay in their own homes. You look at the people that have to do everything imaginable just to protect themselves from our own government.

Now, all I'm saying is this oppression was so horrible and so awful that verse 6 says that Israel was greatly impoverished and verse 7 it says, "When the children of Israel cried unto the Lord," I mean, they were ready now for some help and deliverance. I want you to note what God did. Look in verse 8. After they cried to the Lord, then the Lord sent a prophet unto the children of Israel, who said unto them, "Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt and brought you forth out of the house of bondage, and I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, out of the hand of all that oppressed you, and drave them out from before you, and gave you their land. And I said unto you, I am the Lord your God.

Fear not the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell, but you have not obeyed my voice." Isn't that amazing? God didn't send the militia. God didn't send the military. God didn't send another foreign army in there, he did not raise someone up to lead a revolution. No, what did he do? He sent a preacher.

Now, let me ask you a question. Why did God send the preacher? Why did God send the preacher? You probably know the answer, but I'm going to answer it a little bit later. Here's the third problem. The third problem deals with the corruption of the ministry. Look in your Bibles to 1 Samuel chapter 2. You're talking about something that's very appropriate today when we talk about the corruption of the ministry. We see how applicable the Word of God is to our modern day problems.

Problem Three: Corruption of the Ministry

Eli's sons were wicked priests; God raised up Samuel as a prophet to confront them, demonstrating that even corrupt ministry is addressed by sending a preacher.

Dishonest, immoral, corrupt, and wicked ministers abound today exactly as they did in Old Testament and New Testament times as well. Now look in 1 Samuel chapter 2 and let's begin reading there with verse 12.

and you know who they are, Hophni and Phinehas.

They were priests, but they were not even converted. Boy, you mean, Brother Weaver, there's a lot of preachers in this country that's not saved? Oh, yeah. I can assure you. Watch verse 13,

That was the custom. So they did in Shiloh to all the Israelites that came thither. And before they burned the fat, the priest's servant came. Now watch.

It's a little different now. "And the priest's servant came and said to the man that sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for the priest. He'll not have it sodden of thee, but raw." In other words, he didn't want any boiled meat. He wanted something to put on the grill.

Now watch verse 16, "And if any man said unto him, Let them not fail to burn the fat presently, then take as much as thy soul desireth. Then he would answer, Nay, but thou shalt give it me now. If not, I'll take it by force. Wherefore, the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord, for men abhorred the offering of the Lord." You know what I hear people say everywhere I go? "I just hate going to church. I just can't stomach what I've been hearing and all that's going on and all the corruption." I hear that everywhere I go. You would be amazed at how many phone calls I get every week from people in every state saying, "Pastor, do you know any decent church in my area that will preach and teach the Word of God?" Skip down, if you would, please, to verse 22.

"Now, Eli was very old and heard all that his sons did in all Israel and how they lay with the women that assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And he said to them, Why did you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings with all these people. Nay, my sons, for it is no good report that I hear: you make the Lord's people to transgress." "If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him. But if a man sin against the Lord, who shall entreat for him? Notwithstanding, they hearkened not to the voice of their father, because the Lord would slay them." So here these priests then were not only thieves and then not only caused people to despise the ministry of God, here they are immoral, committing fornication, adultery, even at the very door of the tabernacle.

Skip down to verse 27. "There came a man of God unto Eli and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Did I plainly appear unto the house of thy father when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh's house? And did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer upon mine altar to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? And did I give unto the house of thy father all the offerings made by fire of the children of Israel? Now look what God says, Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifices, and at mine offering, which I have commanded to my habitation, and honorest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people. Wherefore, the Lord God of Israel said, I said indeed that thy house and the house of thy father should walk before me forever. But now the Lord said, be it far from me for them that honor me I will honor, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed."

Now the sins of Hophni and Phinehas were great. And their corruption back then has a striking parallel to what is going on in our country today. Preachers are falling like flies. If they're not running off with some woman, they're running off with some man. Or they're stealing. They're corrupt. Have you ever wondered what in the world is happening? Let me tell you something. When you denounce and deny and denigrate God's standard, when you will not listen to God's law or God's word, it's only so that you might elevate your own standard. You're either going to follow God's law or your law. You're either going to follow God's word or your word. Here's a corruption of the ministry and we see that what in the world did God do? Well, you know what God did? God raised him up another preacher.

And he sent that little preacher. Look in 1 Samuel chapter 3 verse 1,

Now skip down to verse 20. Same chapter. 1 Samuel 3.

Now why? In the face of the corruption of the ministry, did God raise up and send another preacher?

I'll tell you the answer to that in just a minute, but I'm sure you probably already know it. Let's talk about problem number four. I want you to turn to 2 Samuel chapter 12. I mentioned this one briefly last night, but I want you to see it in the context. 2 Samuel chapter 12. In fact, let's begin with chapter 11 first, then we'll go to chapter 12. Here's problem number four.

Problem Four: The Highest Leader's Sin

David's adultery, murder, and treason were confronted by the prophet Nathan, bringing repentance and consequences.

The highest governmental leader has sinned. Now, you talk about being applicable. Not only has the highest governmental leader sinned, he is also guilty of treason. And he's also guilty of adultery and murder. That's really applicable today, isn't it? He's tried to hide his rebellion. He's tried to hide his sin. But his top military commander knows all about it, and thus he's in danger of being blackmailed. You know the story.

Look in chapter 11 verse 1,

And she came in unto him, and he lay with her, for she was purified from her uncleanness, and she returned to her own house. And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child. And you know the story, how David now sends for Uriah, her husband, and tries to pretend like he just wants to find out how the battle is going, and thinks Uriah is just going to go home, but Uriah just sleeps at the doorstep of the king.

He won't go home. And David said, "Uriah, I don't understand this. You come home from your battle and you won't even go home to your wife?" He said, "God forbid it." He said, "As long as the ark of my God and Joab and Israel is in the battle, I'm not going to go home and enjoy myself while the ark of God is..." Listen, Uriah had more character than David at this point. And you know, the next thing David did, tried to make him drunk. And still, when he made him drunk, he would not go home. And finally, he sent a note to Joab said, "Put Uriah in the foremost front of the battle and retire from him that he may be smitten." You know what David had done? David had not only committed adultery and murder, but he had basically also committed treason. What he did was treasonous, not only toward God, but toward the nation and toward the people that he was supposed to protect and lead. What did God do?

Look in chapter 12, verse 1. "And the Lord sent Nathan unto David." And you know the story. But notice what God did. The Lord sent a preacher. When the highest civil ruler had committed treason and murder and adultery, God sent a preacher. Why? Why did he send the preacher? Well, I'll answer in a minute, but I'm sure you probably already know the answer. Let's look at problem number five. Wicked, vile persons have taken over the civil government.

Problem Five: Wicked Civil Government

Under Ahab and Jezebel, God instructed Elijah to anoint new kings and a prophet, using them to execute judgment and continue His Word.

Boy, that is applicable, isn't it? Go ahead and turn in your Bibles, if you would, to 1 Kings, chapter 19. 1 Kings, chapter 19. Here's the problem. Wicked, vile persons have taken over the civil government. They are oppressing the people. They're killing. They're stealing. They're ruling tyrannically. God's preachers are being killed. They're being imprisoned. They're being run out of the country while false prophets are being elevated and while they're feeding at the governmental trough.

Moreover, neighboring kingdoms have been following suit, so much so that there is absolutely no peace in the region. Now, you would think this is a great problem, and this problem requires great concentration and great deliberation and specific planning. Well, let's look in 1 Kings chapter 19. You already know who the two wicked people are who took over the government. 1 Kings 19 verse 1,

that is the prophets of Baal.

Now, I want you to notice Elijah is the prophet. Elijah has killed the 450 prophets of Baal. And when Ahab tells Jezebel what has happened, and by the way, you know who's running things when he goes home and tells Jezebel, she says, "The Lord do so to me tomorrow. If you're not like one of those prophets, Elijah, oh boy, I got news for you. By this time tomorrow, you're going to be dead." She'd killed a lot of others. Elijah believed her. And he took off. And you know the story, how God came to him as he was resting under the juniper tree and saying, "Elijah, what are you doing here?" And then God fed him and God watered him and God sent him to the mountain. Look in your Bibles, if you would. 1 Kings chapter 19. And let's begin reading there in verse 11. He's at the mountain. In fact, let's read verse 10. Here's what Elijah tells God when God asked him, what's he doing there? And he said,

And I, even I only, am left and they seek my life to take it away." God, I'm the only one left. How many of us have ever thought that? We're the only ones that are standing for righteousness and truth. We're all by ourselves. Let me tell you something that might encourage you. I hope it will. I travel all over this country. And I find people just like you everywhere that know the truth and believe the truth and are standing for the truth. Listen, what we do is we think this is just our community. I got news. It's not just us anymore. We have people who believe God's word and are standing for truth all through this country. They may be in small numbers, but they're all through this country. I meet them everywhere I go. Elijah said, "I'm the only one."

Skip down to verse 11. "And God said, Go forth and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And behold, the Lord passed by and a great and strong wind rent the mountains and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord. But the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind was an earthquake, the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake a fire, the Lord was not in fire. And after the fire a still small voice. Now watch this verse 13. And it was so when Elijah heard it that he wrapped his face in the mantle and went out and stood in the entering into the cave. And behold, there came a voice unto him and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?"

Then he said, "I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts, because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword. And I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life to take it away. And the Lord said unto him, Now look, go return on the way to the wilderness of Damascus. And when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria. And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel. And Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room. Now watch verse 17, and it shall come to pass that him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay, and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay." Wow. Now, what did God do when Elijah ran? He said, "Lord, I'm the only one left." God says, "Oh, no, Elijah, you know, I've got seven thousand.

It's not about the knee to Baal. But I tell you what you do, Elijah. I want you to go anoint two kings for me. You anoint Hazael king over Syria, Jehu king over Israel, and then you anoint Elisha to be prophet in your place."

Now, I want you to note, out of these five problems, in each instance, God's answer to every one of them was to send a preacher. Why? Don't you remember our text, Isaiah 55 verses 8 and 9? "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your thoughts." You see, God's answers are not necessarily man's answers. And therefore, God always sends a preacher to declare His Word and give His answer to the problem. And in doing so, the preacher then demands repentance and obedience. Now, let's review these five problems and let me show you something about them. First of all, problem one, you remember that Israel is down in Egypt and now they're enslaved and God demanded that Pharaoh allow Israel to go free. But the Egyptians refused and Pharaoh refused. He said in chapter 5, verse 2, "I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go."

Why God Sends Preachers

God sends preachers because His Word either converts or condemns. When God has compassion, He sends messengers; when He curses, He removes or silences them.

And what did God do? God destroyed Pharaoh. God destroyed the Egyptians. God delivered his people. I want you to know something. God did not use an army. He only sent a preacher. That's all. Do you realize that God is quite capable of taking care of business by himself? Now, it is true that oftentimes in the Bible, God does use means and God does use us. But God doesn't have to use us. Someone says, well, God and one man is the majority. That's not true, folks. God is a majority in and of himself. He doesn't even need one man. But he sent the preacher and God brought his people out of Egypt by a preacher.

Go to problem number two. The problem number two, you remember, Israel is in the land. They've just forsaken God. They're serving Baal. God has delivered them over into the hand of the Midianites. And I want you to go back to Judges chapter 6 just for a moment. I want to show you something. I've already said this, but I want you to see this from the Scripture. Notice, if you would, Judges chapter 6, notice verse 7. Begin there. Judges 6, verse 7. "And it came to pass when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord because of the Midianites, that the Lord sent a prophet unto the children of Israel, who said unto them, Now look what the prophet said. Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I brought you up out of Egypt, and I brought you up out of the house of bondage, and I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all that oppressed you, and drave them out before you, and gave you their land.

And I said unto you, I am the Lord your God, fear not the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell, but you have not obeyed my voice." Now look, it was not that they did not have the Word of God. They had it. They just didn't obey it. What good is it if you do not obey it? Does you no good at all? Do you realize it's our rebellion? It's our wickedness.

That bring most of our problems upon us. I don't care if it's an individual or family or church or nation. We bring our problems upon ourselves. Because of our disobedience. Do you realize there are some problems that God's people ought to never have? What am I talking about? Well, I ought to never have the problem of venereal disease. Why? Because I'm going to be obedient to God. And I'm going to be faithful to my wife and faithful to Him. I ought never have cirrhosis of the liver. I mean, because I don't plan on being a drunkard. I ought never to have a lot of problems that the world has. I ought not to have the fussing and fighting and feuding in the home that the world has. Why? Because I'm a Christian. All I'm trying to point out is this, folks. We bring most of our problems upon ourselves because of our disobedience, even our financial problems. Because we refuse to be faithful in giving to the Lord, we refuse to save. We refuse to follow biblical economics.

We refuse to stay out of debt. And it's our disobedience. It brings it, we bring it upon ourselves. Why did God send the preacher? God sent the preacher to say, look, you have the word. You just didn't obey it.

Now you're in it up to your eyeballs. You know what we want? Unhappily, we want to live disobedient lives, and when we start sleeping somehow, we want to look up and say, "God, you've got to deliver me. I'm one of yours." It doesn't work like that, we may be one of his, but we still reap what we sow. Here's problem number three. God's preacher, God's prophet was raised up to confront a corrupt ministry. There God raised little Samuel.

And here these boys were just as wicked and ungodly as they could be. And you could say, well, didn't do Samuel any good to confront them. You know what God said to Samuel? God told Samuel, He said, "Look, I'm going to do something that's going to make the ears of everyone tingle. I'm going to really do something. I'm going to really wipe out Eli and Hophni and Phinehas." And when boy, when he found out, Eli found out that God had spoken to Samuel, Eli said, "You tell me everything. You tell me everything that God told you.

Don't you hold anything back?" And he didn't hold anything back, he told him. But you say, but now listen, when Samuel confronted Eli and those boys, it didn't do any good. Because God killed those boys. Yeah, he did. I want you to look in your Bibles, Isaiah 55, that's our text. Go back to Isaiah 55. Let me show you something. Before I close tonight, I'm going to really emphasize this, but look in Isaiah 55 and notice if you would please verse 11. Isaiah 55, verse 11. Look what God says.

"So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth. It shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing where I sent it." I want you to underscore that, not just in your Bibles, but in your minds. God says, "My Word shall not return unto me void." God said it shall always accomplish that whereunto I please, and it will always prosper in the thing where I sent it. You just have to remember this. God does not always send His Word for reconciliation. Sometimes He sends that Word for condemnation. And it did work. Because God did kill those boys exactly the way Samuel said. And Samuel preached. So God sent a preacher. Go to problem four. If you look back in your Bibles to 2 Samuel chapter 12, and I was pointing out in problem four how the highest civil leader in the land had committed treason, adultery, murder. And by the way, I hope you know that David should have been executed for any or all of those crimes.

Treason merits the death penalty. Adultery merits the death penalty. Murder merits the death penalty. What do you say, Brother Weaver? Why didn't David die? Well, let me show you why. Look in 2 Samuel chapter 12. And notice, if you would please, verse 13. "And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said unto David, the Lord also hath put away thy sin, thou shalt not die." The only reason David did not die was God gave him a special pardon. Now, just because God pardoned him

and did not execute him certainly did not mean that he got away scot-free. David had to reap what he sowed. He suffered immeasurably because of his sins. He lost that child. And you remember how Absalom tried to run his own daddy off the throne. How Amnon raped his own half-sister Tamar and how Absalom murdered Amnon. Oh, he reaped everything he sowed. That is for sure. But David did not get off scot-free.

And what did God do? God sent him a preacher to bring him to his knees in repentance before God. Here's problem number five. Problem number five was when wicked people were in control of the government and namely Ahab and Jezebel. What did God do? God told Elijah, "You go and anoint Jehu over Israel and Hazael over Syria and Elisha prophet in your room." Now, why did God tell him that? Look in your Bibles to 2 Kings 10, and I'll show you. 2 Kings 10. Notice, if you would please, verse 32 and 33. 2 Kings 10. Notice, if you would please, verse 32. Here it is. 2 Kings 10, verse 32.

Now, what was he doing in verse 32? He was sending Hazael to judge Israel. If you'll look back up in verse 31, "But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the Lord God of Israel with all of his heart, for he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, which made Israel to sin." But you know what God used Jehu to do? God used Jehu to cut off the whole house of Ahab. So now God says, "Look, you anoint two men to be king. Why?

Because they were going to execute some men and they were going to have God's sanction upon them for the judgment that they brought. So Hazael judged the northern kingdom, and Jehu judged the house of Ahab. And when you get to 2 Kings chapter 6, although Elisha never really used the sword in and of himself, he's the one who certainly oversaw it, because there the king of Syria sent the Delphin to capture Elisha, and Elisha asked God to smite them with blindness, and then he led them to Samaria, and the king of Samaria said, "Shall I smite them, my father, shall I smite them?" He said, "No. Feed them and send them home." What am I talking about? Every aspect of life and death is covered by the Word of God.

Now, let me just try to start tying things together for you. We're talking about problems that we're facing in America. May I remind you that the problems that we're facing are not our main problem. You know what most of us do? We deal with symptoms. We don't deal with the problem. Here's someone that has an apple tree in the backyard. And they despise and they hate apples, and every year they have to go out and snatch all those apples off that tree, and every time they snatch one off, they say, "I hate it, I hate it, I despise you," and they throw it down and stomp it in the ground. Well, if you really hate and despise apples, the wise thing to do is cut the tree down. Kill the root, then you're not going to have any apples. You see, we look around and we see the economic problems. We see the governmental problems. We see the educational problems. We see the marital problems, the discipline problems. Let me tell you, folks, those are not the problems.

Those are the symptoms. The problem is we will not heed or hear and obey the word of God. I had a dear lady in our church. And she had a husband who was so likeable. But he was a drunk.

Now, he didn't stay drunk all the time, but about once a month he had to pitch him a good royal drunk. But he was one of those fellows that worked, made good money. And his wife was a member of our church. His children came to church, you know, regularly. And one day his wife came to me and she was so upset and she was weeping and she said, "Pastor, he's such a good man," said, "if he would just stop his drinking." I looked at her and I said, "Sister, don't say that. It's not his drinking. The drinking is not the problem. The drinking is the symptom. His problem is he's got a wicked rebellious heart. That's the problem." I said, "If he quit drinking and his heart was never regenerated, he'd start running around. He'd do something else." The problem is, folks, we want to deal with the symptoms instead of dealing with the problem, and the problem is we just simply will not hear God.

Let me ask that you turn in your Bibles to 2 Chronicles chapter 36. Let me show you. 2 Chronicles chapter 36. And let's begin reading there verse 14, 2 Chronicles 36, verse 14.

2 Chronicles 36, verse 14, watch carefully.

Now, look what God did.

that is the people,

I want you to note something, please. Messengers is plural, right?

His is singular. So the words were God's words. So here's what the people are doing.

Therefore, He," God, "brought upon them the king of the Chaldees, who slew their young men with a sword in the house of their sanctuary and had no compassion upon young men or maiden or old man or him that stooped for age. He gave them all into His hands." Now, I want you to look very carefully. The Bible says in verse 15, "And the Lord God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers." You know how you can tell when God has compassion upon a people. You know how you can tell when God has compassion upon a church, a community, a state, or even a nation. How can you tell? Because God will always send His preachers. That's what the Bible said. Because He had compassion upon them, He sent these preachers. Listen, I have wonderful news for repentant, honest, obedient people, if I can only find some. Wonderful news. You will understand that when God has compassion on people, he sends them preachers. Turn it around. How do you know when the curse of God is upon a people, is upon a church, is upon a family or a state or a nation? God removes his preachers. You know, you remember that passage in 1 Kings where God sent Elijah out of the land and for three and a half years there was a drought.

Elijah said, "As the Lord God liveth before whom I stand, there shall not be rain or dew these years, but according to my word." And God sent Elijah to a widow's house in Zarephath, in Sidon, outside of the land. Listen. The lack of rain was just a physical illustration of a spiritual reality. God's preacher was out and there was no word from God for three and a half years. Sometimes God does not remove his preachers like he did Elijah. Sometimes God just shuts their mouth like in Jeremiah. Jeremiah was told three times, "Pray not for this people, for I will not hear thee," saith the Lord. And finally, Jeremiah wanted to pray so much, you get to Jeremiah 14. God said, "All right, Jeremiah, I'm going to let you pray, but here's what you're going to pray. You're going to pray that I'm going to destroy them, for that's exactly what I'm going to do." So when God curses a people, God removes his preachers or God shuts their mouths. Look in your Bibles to the book of Jeremiah, chapter 3.

Jeremiah, chapter 3. Notice, if you would please, verses 14 and 15. Jeremiah 3. Verse 14. Jeremiah 3, verse 14, God says,

How can we tell if we got the blessings of God? Because God will send men who will feed us with knowledge and understanding. Now, listen carefully. Why does God send his preachers?

I want to answer that. Look in your Bibles, the one last passage, 2 Corinthians chapter 2. Why does God send his pastors? And the answer is because the Word of God will either convert you or condemn you. The Word of God will either convert you or condemn you. Look at it. 2 Corinthians chapter 2 verse 14. And I want you to underline one word there in your mind. In verse 14, the Apostle Paul writes, "Now thanks be unto God, who always causes us to triumph in Christ." Do we triumph only sometimes? Occasionally? Oh no. We always triumph in Christ. Now look at verse 14, "and maketh manifest the savor of His knowledge by us in every place. Now look what Paul says, for we are unto God a sweet savor of Christ in them that are saved and in them that perish.

The Savor of Life and Death

Preaching Christ is a sweet savor to God whether it results in salvation or condemnation. Response to God's Word reveals one's spiritual state.

To the one we are the savor of death unto death, and to the other the savor of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?" Now let me explain to you what the Apostle Paul is saying. He's using an Old Testament illustration of that offering going up before the Lord and there was that sweet smell of that offering. Now the Apostle says in verse 15, "For we," that is we the preachers, "are unto God a sweet savor of Christ in them that are saved and in them that perish. To the one we're the savor of death and to the other we're the savor of life unto life." So let me try to illustrate what he's saying. Let's suppose tonight in this room are 150 unconverted people. And I stand and I preach Christ and repentance and faith and the power of God falls. And men are regenerated and men are converted by the grace of God. And you know what God does as I preach? God says, "That's a sweet smell. My son is preached." But now I've got these same 150 in this room. And I preach Christ as hard as I can preach Him. And I preach repentance. And I preach faith. And all 150 men shake their fists in my face and say, "We'll kill you if you don't shut up!" God says, "My son is preached and I'm satisfied."

The savor of life unto life. And the savor of death unto death. Dear friend, let me tell you something. It is important as to whether or not you obey the Word of God. And your response to God's preaching tells us which camp you're in. Those either life unto life or those death unto death. As the Scripture says in Luke 9 and verse 35, "The cloud came over and what did our Father say?

Conclusion: Hear and Obey

God's answer to every problem is found in His Word. The need is to hear, heed, and obey, bringing lives into conformity to Christ.

This is my beloved Son. Hear ye him." God sent a preacher. And every one of those situations. That you might hear his word and his answers and God does have the answer for your life and your family and your church and your state and your nation. We just need to learn to hear and heed and obey. Let's pray. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we ask that You would speak to our hearts. Teach us, Lord, the absolute necessity of hearing and obeying Your Word and bringing our lives in conformity to Jesus Christ. We're thankful that Your Word has the answer to every problem, and we give Thee the praise in Christ's name, Amen.