Those who teach the Christian life is about health, wealth, and happiness are not only belittling the cross of Christ; they are discounting the countless lives of those who have been martyred for their expressed faith in Jesus as their Savior. 

The evidence a person has been born again is that they are immediately attacked by Satan in ways they never experienced before and from sources they never expected. It is called “spiritual warfare,” a battle that will not end until their physical death. However, as the Apostle Peter said, “think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you, but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.” (1 Peter 4:12-14)

We will explain this further in our next sermon in this series – “Behold the King: The Temptation of the King.”

Leonard Ravenhill once said, “If John the Baptist were to come back today, he would not be crying in the wilderness, but a voice crying in the church, “repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”  Why? Because the Church Growth Movement failed Christ’s Church in two ways.

First, it failed to keep the Church faithful to the Scripture. Just think of the many different translations and paraphrases of the Bible that have been published in the last 50-years. Chart that with the decrease in the lack of biblical knowledge, the dumbing down of doctrine, and the absence of a cohesive theology among the majority of church members.
Second, it failed to provide TRUE growth to the Church. Not only are most churches not increasing in size, but those that are expanding are doing so at the expense of other churches. More than 80% of the adults counted as new members are transplants from other churches.

 According to a recent report by CBN, more than 4,000 churches closed their doors in 2020, and over 20,000 pastors left the ministry. While some of that is due to the onset of Covid, the fact that the attendance has not returned after two years indicates a much deeper problem – i.e., perhaps they were never truly saved.

We will explain this further in our next sermon in this series – “Behold the King: The Coronation of the King.” The subtitle might be “The biblical basis for baptism!”

Repentance is not required for salvation; it is the essential evidence of salvation.

Unless there is evidence of genuine repentance before a person is baptized, not only will their baptism not mean much to them, but the full meaning and purpose of baptism is lost for the Church and Christianity.

We will explain this further in our next sermon in this series – “Behold the King: The Results of Repentance.”

Just as God prepared the world for the first coming of our Savior, so is He working all things together for His soon return. We may not think so, but everything is working exactly according to His divine plan, design, and desire, and in the fullness of time, God will send forth His Son.

Beloved, since the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us 2000 years ago, there has not been a fresh word from God, and there will not be, because God has already said all that needs to be said for a lost man to be saved. The next fresh word from God will be the visible return of Jesus Christ as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

We will explain this further in our next sermon in this series – “Behold the King: The King is Proclaimed.”

Our word worship derives from the Old English “weordhscipe,” which means to give God the recognition He deserves. In the New Testament, the word worship means to bow down to God or to kings, and in Christianity, worship is to attribute respect, reverence, and personal righteousness to God and give Him praise and thanksgiving for what He has done for us through Jesus Christ.

In Matthew’s documentary of the visit of the Magi to find the newborn king, it is interesting to note that he stressed the sacrifices they made to worship Him. Even though Jesus was a child at the time of their arrival, they respected Him, reverenced Him, and gave Him gifts that reflected His royalty.

Beloved, our worship of God does not begin when we enter the sanctuary on Sunday morning. The actual evidence of our worship starts with the sacrifices we make during the week to reserve the Lord’s Day to worship Him. We will explain this further in our next sermon in this series – “Behold the King: The King is Worshipped.”

The virgin birth is one of the essential doctrines of the Christian Faith. Yet, some who are considered to be in the mainstream of evangelical Christianity are certainly not in the mainstream of evangelical orthodoxy regarding this and other fundamental doctrines.

For example, William Lane Craig is the director of a ministry called Reasonable Faith. He is also visiting professor at Talbot School of Theology at Biola University and a professor of Philosophy at Houston Baptist University. However, in answer to the question, “Are you confident that Jesus was born of a virgin, Craig said, “I’m reasonably confident.”

To reach that level of theological modernity, one must deny:

The promise God made to Satan in Genesis 3:15, that the “Seed” of the woman would bruise his head, which Jesus Christ did at the cross.
The prophecy of Isaiah 7:14, “The Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”
The fulfillment of those two promises according to Matthew 1:22-23. “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel.’”

Now, to put Craig’s uncertainty of the virgin birth in the Apostle Paul’s definition of one’s confession of faith, if we are “reasonably confident” Jesus is Lord, and “reasonably confident” God raised Him from the dead, we can be saved. I’m absolutely certain that is NOT what Paul wrote in Romans 10:9-10.

Beloved, the gospel of Matthew was written to prove to the Jews that Jesus was who He said He was, that He did what He said He did, for the reason He said He did it, and that He did it for all who would “believe” in Him – not reasonably confident.

According to a report released this week by Lifeway Research, most Americans and many Christians do not believe the Son of God existed before the manger.

Three out of four Americans believe Jesus was born in Bethlehem 2000 years ago, but less than half of them believe Jesus existed prior to that first Christmas morning.
Ninety-five percent of those who said they were Christians believe Jesus was born in Bethlehem 2000 years ago, but only 63% of them believe the Son of God existed before Jesus was born, which means they do not understand the triune nature of the Godhead, nor God’s plan for our redemption.

Beloved, if Jesus was not the Son of God sent to be our Savior, He died as a martyr, and not our Savior, and we are still lost in our sins. The gospel of Matthew was written to prove that Jesus was the Messiah: The God-sent Savior for all those who will receive Him.

Like the children of Israel in Amos’ day, most of God’s people are not walking in God’s ways today. They are religious, and often participate in a worship service, but their hearts are far from Him.

Just as God was grieved by the evil he saw in the people of Israel in Amos’ day; He must be even more grieved at the wickedness He sees in His people today.

We have a more-sure knowledge of God.
We have witnessed the full and final revelation of God in the Person and work of Jesus Christ.  
We have received the eternal blessings of God’s plan of redemption through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

 Just as Amos pleaded with God’s people in His day, I’m pleading with God’s people today.  Turn your eyes away from the things of the world, even the religious things, and look upon Him who gave His life for our sins and who is soon going to call us home to live with Him forever. In 1 Corinthians 10:11 the Apostle Paul wrote, “These things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.”

In his book, “A Christian Manifesto,” (1981) Dr. Francis Schaeffer wrote, “Our culture, society, government, and law are in the condition they’re in, not because of a conspiracy, but because the church has forsaken its duty to be the salt of the culture.” The title of this sermon is Return to Me: The Fall of a Nation. Amos is writing about the fall of Israel, but the Holy Spirit is speaking to us about the fall of America, not because of crooked politicians, but because of the spiritual weakness of today’s church.

I realize we are entering the Christmas season, but I’m convinced that we face such a crucial time in our history that I must continue the sermon series from the Book of Amos.

As we have learned so far, when God was about to judge Israel in the Old Testament, it was the spiritual leaders who never got the message, and they killed the prophets that tried to warn them. When God sent His Son to be our Savior through the womb of Mary, it was the spiritual leaders who never got the message, and they crucified the very Son of God.

How could God’s people have been so blind? Primarily, it was because they had forsaken their personal relationship with God and had become satisfied with the practice of their religion.

God is speaking to His people through the events of our day, but most of today’s spiritual leaders are so busy they cannot hear what the Spirit is saying to the Churches. The Bible is clear; such a blatant disregard for God’s Word by God’s people will not go unpunished.