"Amen" is a wonderful word to use in our Christian vocabulary to express our joy as we walk with our God and our faith and trust in our Lord Jesus Christ. In the past, the song has been sung by Church choirs and others such as Larnelle Harris and Whitney Phipps. Other times when Christians have something important said to them, they follow with the word, "Amen!" Preachers like to preach and then ask the question, "Can I get an Amen?"
When praying in public or privately, the last word said is 'Amen' Some hymns conclude with a "Amen" but sometimes not sung by the congregation. Our Bible Concordance (KJV) for "Amen" does not use the word, but the New English Bible mentions it "78" times, of which 30 times in the Old Testament. Numbers 8 speaks of a priest who is teaching a lesson a married woman who is sleeping with another man. And the woman says, "Amen. meaning 'so be it.' (vs 5) It meant that it was affirming what was just said by the priest.
In Revelation 22:21, is the very last word of the Bible, God's last word is AMEN! Here it means "surely, truly, finally, so be it, and may it be fulfilled." But Christians want it to something a little more . . it's exclamation point for a sermon preached. One preacher said it best, "Amen is God's little word with a Great Big meaning!"
David said these words in I Chronicles 16: 1, "The Lord is great and greatly to be praised; The Lord reigns; He is coming to earth! Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! Save us O' God! Deliver us --- and then in verse 36, he says, "And all the people said AMEN! And they praised the Lord." They were saying God we agree with David's prayer, He is wonderful!
Moses speaks to the people as he is about to take charge he says "You are about to become God's chosen people and make sure that you follow His commandments! Then the people said "Amen! we will follow His commands!"
(Deuteronomy 27:12) This means they not only agree with God's Word, but they will follow it!
Conclusion: So Amen is not just word, rather it is a decision we make to follow God! In the Book of Acts, the Ethiopian Eunuch heard the Gospel preached to him. Then, immediately He followed God's plan of salvation. He believed, repented, and confessed Jesus publicly, and then went in the water and was baptized. His "Amen" was when he obeyed the Gospel plan , He left the place with rejoicing and that was his exclamation point -- AMEN!!!
Presented by Larry L. Vollink, from Cedar Springs, Mich. (616) 655-4129 lawrenceV@comcast.net
