In practically every gathering of ministers there is a subject that comes up; that subject is church growth. “How do we get people to come to church?” We have answered that question with a thousand books and yet by and large we are losing the battle for souls. In spite of our best efforts, we seemingly have lost our moorings and are drifting around in the ocean of life with the only hope this world has and no sense of direction and no ability to impact our generation. While the question that prevails in Christianity is; “How to build a mega church?” the question that begs to be answered is how can we expect people to get excited about church when church has become nothing different from what we can experience in the world. We trumpet high impact ministry with all of its frills. Our services are filled with video clips, movie clips and unfortunately scripture clips. We take more time and efforts refining our delivery than we do making sure that what we are delivering has Holy Ghost content so in effect what we are doing is decorating our box without giving the gift. Jude says in verse12 “These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;13 Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever. ”
Jude speaks of those who had taken a shepherding role, but did not function as shepherds. Instead of feeding the flock of God, they selfishly would feed only themselves. How unthinkable for a shepherd not to feed his sheep—which was his major responsibility! Their leadership was false, for it was deceptive, hardened, and selfish.
As leaders, these apostates were clouds without rain, blown along by the wind. This is the first of four vivid comparisons from nature in verses 12-13. These men had no water for thirsty souls; they only pretended that they did. And they were soon gone, unstable as wind-driven clouds.
As leaders these apostates were spiritually dead. A tree in the autumn (the time of gathering fruit from fruit trees) without fruit appears (or is) dead, and a fruitless tree that is uprooted is dead forever—thus it is twice dead. The dead condition of apostate leaders was indicated by two things: (a) they did not bear spiritual fruit in others, and (b) they were without spiritual roots themselves, and thus faced judgment.
v. 13. Like wild waves of the sea, raging back and forth and producing only froth on the shore, these apostates spewed their foam with nothing solid, edifying, helpful, or nourishing. What they produced was only shame, which their actions caused.
Wandering stars (i.e., “shooting” stars), move across the sky, shining briefly, and then vanish without production light or giving direction. Fixed stars help guide navigators, but wandering stars are useless to them. If any shipmaster would be stupid enough to follow one, he would be led astray. Similarly the prominence of apostate leaders is short-lived, useless, and false. They do lead unwary followers astray, pretending to be what they are not. They will therefore be swallowed up into the blackest darkness forever; eternal judgment is certain for them.
These apostates were not unfruitful believers, who would not receive rewards in heaven at the judgment seat of Christ. Instead they were impostors who would be judged according to their evil deeds.
I have witnessed first hand the delivery of vital organs to hospitals where they will soon be transplanted in someone who without them will soon die. When they are delivering these awesome priceless gifts of life, it has amazed me that they do so in a $4.97 cooler. You see they understand that what they are delivering is more important than the shell that delivers it! Let me clarify this for those of you who are having a hard time understanding where I am going. I am not knocking quality nor am I suggesting that we ought to return to some “sloppy agape” style of ministry where ignorance is glorified. But I am so afraid that the pendulum of balance has swung the other way so far that we somehow feel that if we can have a video clip of some perverted Hollywood type reinforce what we are trying to say that it will have a greater degree of credence to the audience that we are trying to appeal to. Let me say this about that, “I am not interested in having Hollywood puff up my stuff or reinforce my delivery.” Our preaching must not be with enticing words of mans wisdom but in demonstration of the power of God! What we need is for the Holy Ghost to drive the message home, what we need is to fast and pray until what we say is so anointed; it will go home with your loved one and work on them in the midnight hour!
Now I said all of that to say this; the reason that church attendance across denominational lines is declining and the reason that many churches have closed the door on Sunday night or have opted for doughnuts and coffee instead of worship and preaching is because ultimately;
I. The ministry has failed!
Look at 2 Cor. 5:10-11 (KJV)
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
[11] Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.
We as ministers of the Gospel dare not remove the message of judgment from our pulpits because it is that message of terror that persuades men to get right with God!
The majority it seems has opted out of preaching the reality of hell for a message that is not so harsh, but don’t we understand that the reality of hell has nothing to do with my lack of willingness to tell you about it. It exists whether I preach about it or not! The problem is if I don’t warn you and you go there, your blood will be required at my hand!
Ezekiel 33 1 The LORD spoke his word to me. He said,
2 “Son of man, speak to your people. Tell them, ‘Suppose I bring war on this country, and the people of this country choose one of their men and make him their watchman.
3 If he sees the enemy coming to attack the country, he will blow his horn to warn the people.
4 If the people hear the horn and ignore the warning and the enemy comes and takes them, they will be responsible for their own deaths.
5 They heard the sound of the horn but ignored its warning. So they are responsible for their own deaths. If they had taken the warning, they would have saved themselves.
6 “‘But if the watchman sees the enemy coming and doesn’t blow his horn to warn the people and the enemy comes and kills someone, that watchman must die because of his sin. I will hold him responsible for their deaths.’
7 “Son of man, I have appointed you as a watchman for the people of Israel. Listen to what I say, and warn them for me.
8 Suppose I say to a wicked person, ‘You wicked person, you will certainly die,’ and you say nothing to warn him to change his ways. That wicked person will die because of his sin, and I will hold you responsible for his death.
9 But if you warn a wicked person to turn from his ways and he doesn’t turn from them, then he will die because of his sin. However, you will save yourself.
Ministers are we more afraid of the retribution of man, of the declining offering, or becoming unpopular among society than we are fearful to allow men to go to hell lost without God! Is it that the fear of the Lord has been watered down and eternal judgment makes people feel uncomfortable so we just don’t preach it? Does our failure to acknowledge an eternity without God cause the reality of the lost ness to go away?
Our pageantry must not replace his passion! The cry of heaven is going forth! Time is short! Hear what the scripture says:
“And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand” (Romans 13:11-12).
“But this I say, brethren, the time is short” (1 Cor. 7:29).
“Redeeming the time, because the days are evil” (Ephes. 5:16).
“Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time” (Col. 4:5).
“Stir up the gift of God which is in thee” (2 Tim. 1:6).
“Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance” (2 Peter 1:13).
“As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent” (Rev. 3:19).
“So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom” (Psalm 90:12).
Knowing the time is short we must:
1. Preach without fear of man;
a. Hell is real!
b. What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and lose his soul?
c. Life does not consist in the abundance of our possessions.
2. Care less about the puff and stuff and more about relying on the power of the Holy Ghost to reinforce our message.
II. Be afraid be very afraid!
It is the fear of the Lord that is the beginning of wisdom.
A holy fear is enjoined in the New Testament as a preventive of carelessness in religion, and as an incentive to penitence (Matthew 10:28…but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 2 Cor. 5:11
2 Cor. 7:11 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
Phil. 2:12work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
Hebrews 12:28 serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: v.29 For our God is a consuming fire.
It is this lack of Holy fear that allows us to spend countless hours in front of our television sets and video games instead of going into the highways and hedges and compelling the lost to come to Christ.
Matthew 20:1-13 (KJV)
For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard. 2And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way. 5Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise. 6And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle? 7They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive. 8So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first. 9And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. 10But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny. 11And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house, 12Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day. 13But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny?
Look at this again; They care about the pay he cares about the harvest! The focus of this text has become about payment for deeds done when in effect the Lord of the Harvest is more interested in what gets done not what is paid! They see the paycheck he sees the falling grain. Father help us not to preach and teach for what we can get out of it but may we be driven by a higher sense of urgency. It is this lack of urgency both in the pulpit and the pew that is the blame for declining attendance in churches across this nation and around the world. We are waiting for Him to hire us instead of seeing a need and filling it!
Prayer meeting attendance will rise when the weight of souls is felt again. Staying home on Sunday and Wednesday will not be an option when the reality of mans lost condition begins to be felt again. Heaven help us not to be satisfied to sit high and dry and dream of a home in the sky while our loved ones wonder through life lost and wake up in hell blaming us for not warning them!
Sir, I am not here to please and appease, I am here to warn you that there is a hell to shun and a heaven to gain! To somehow shake you, to wake you up! If you are not saved, get right with God! If you are saved get busy reaching the unreached!
Some will say, “I don’t believe in scaring people into coming to Jesus.” Would you rather they got the message after the fact?
