To be sermon-proof is to hear God's Word, claim to love it, claim to obey it, but not act on it! It is to become so hardened, the heart is no longer moved and is totally unaffected by what is preached. Some call it "gospel-hardened." Think of all the old Bible stories and Bible characters. Who do you think was the most sermon-proof? Who sat under the clearest, strongest Word and was totally unaffected by it?
I am convinced that the only way to experience the fullness of the joy of Jehovah is to share His grief. God does grieve over sin, and those who truly walk with Him enter into His grief.
In the days of Noah, "God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was evil continually and it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart" (Genesis 6:5,6).
There is an old song of the church that has a profound meaning to me. It says, "Jesus has a table spread where the saints of God are fed. He invites His chosen people, Come and dine." That table is in the heavenlies, and by faith we are to be seated there. Paul confirms that we have been "raised up, and made to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:6).
The Holy Spirit yearns to bring God's people back to serving the Lord with joy and gladness. How grieved heaven must be to witness the wet blanket of despair and sadness that has fallen upon multitudes of believers. The Word of God commands:
"Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands…serve the Lord with gladness…" (Psalm 100:1–2).
"The hope of the righteous shall be gladness…" (Proverbs 10:28)
"Let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God; yea, let them exceedingly rejoice…"(Psalm 68:3).
The day of the fury of the Lord has not yet come, but it is fast approaching. The burning up of this earth and the passing away of the heavens, so clearly predicted in the Bible, are continually drawing nearer.
God has been warning mankind for centuries that the whole of universal nature will be turned into a heap of ruins. A mighty cosmic conflagration will cause the framework of creation to explode into fragments.
The apostle Paul wrote, "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God" (Romans 8:16).
"Children of God." We often use this phrase to describe ourselves as believers. But I believe we use these words too flippantly, with little understanding of the power and depth of their true meaning.
“Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world” (John 17:24, my emphasis). Jesus prayed this for his disciples, and that includes us. He asked the Father that we may see his glory, meaning to know him.
The Bible we read is a book of hope. The hope it gives us is not moderate, average or normal. It doesn’t inspire us toward the status quo, to merely survive and get by. The hope of God’s Word is expressed in powerful promises that lead to unimaginable results from God’s own hand. That hope leads us to destinations far beyond our wildest expectations.
We know from Scripture that Ezekiel was a great prophet who moved mightily in the Spirit. In Ezekiel 37, God gave him a vision that I believe holds a timely message of spiritual awakening for the dry church of today.
Nehemiah is known as the man who led the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls. Israel was in captivity when God first stirred Nehemiah’s heart toward this noble work. And when Nehemiah asked the Persian king to let him return to Jerusalem for this purpose, God moved the king’s heart to grant his request.
