Revival Conference 2007 - Don Currin - Part 3

What is found in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 15? The Bible said that He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him. You see, Christ saved us to deliver us from a self-centric life into a Christ-centric life. And if you're in Christ, I tell you, you can't remain in a carnal, careless state very long. God, whom He loves, He chases and scourges every son that He receives. To be at ease in Zion is to live carelessly, to neglect God. But there's a second thing I want you to see from our text, and that is the effects of being at ease in Zion. The spiritual effects of being at ease in Zion. In Amos chapter 6, verses 3 through 6, we find four different things that we should expect to see when we are in a state of spiritual ease. Number one, there is a complacency toward approaching judgment. Now look with me, if you would, at verse number three. The prophet says, He that put far away the evil day and caused the seed of violence to come near. Now, what was the evil day? It was the day of reckoning. It was the day of judgment. It was the day when all mankind would stand before the bar of God and give an account of themselves before God. It's a day where God will go through the books and judge the world by His Son, Jesus Christ, in truth and in righteousness. And what you have here is a people that have become so indifferent, and in their indifference they had dismissed from their mind, put far out of their thinking, that there was a day of reckoning, a day of judgment coming. And as a result of that, there was no fear of God before their eyes. Therefore, in their judgment seats, in their places of court execution, wickedness was running rampant because there was no sense of God and no fear of God in the lives of those who had leadership positions to lead and to judge the people. They had caused the seed of violence to come near because of their complacency and the deficiency in fearing God. Does it bother you like it bothers me that there's so very little preaching on judgment these days? Brethren, when's the last time you heard a message on hell? When is the last time you heard a message on the wrath of God? Can I tell you, can I just stir up your mind in a way of remembrance this morning? Our loved ones are headed for a judgment that is indescribable if they've not cast themselves upon the mercy of Christ. Where are the Jonathan Edwards these days that preach such messages as sinners in the hands of an angry God? Where are the Asal Nettleton's? If you study his book, the Sermons from the Second Great Awakening, I tell you, the titles themselves are hair-raising. The man saw over 30,000 people converted, not decisions, not praying prayers, but converted in his day in the Second Great Awakening. And you read through some of those titles there. And such a title as abandoned by God exists. And a sure destruction for the impenitent. We're not hearing messages on wrath. That's why there's so much psychology in the church. People have got to be constantly helped up and propped up because God's never changed the hearts. At best, the house has been swept and garnished. And all of it comes as a result of such a dearth of preaching on wrath and judgment and hell. I asked Martin Lloyd-Jones on one occasion during an interview with Christianity Today. He said, Dr. Jones, tell us, in the light of the plight economically and politically and ecclesiastically in the church in the British Isles, what do you believe that God is saying to the Christians there? What do you believe God is saying to the country? And Lloyd-Jones, without hesitation, said, I believe that God is saying flee from the wrath to come. Every round of questions. Everything they brought up about the problems in the British Isles. His same answer was flee from the wrath to come. And he closed the interview. And they said, do you have any concluding word, any parting word for us? And once again, he spoke very succinctly. He said, flee from the wrath to come and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Can I tell you something? Revival preaching, I'm finding, is gospel preaching. The reason we're not seeing genuine revival and sustained revival, as Denny mentioned last night, is because there is such a dearth of gospel preaching in the land. And sadly, even as my friend Paul Washers said, the reason for that is not that we're not preaching the gospel. We don't understand the gospel. We don't understand the nature of the gospel. And you see, gospel preaching is not only gospel promises, friend. It is gospel warnings. I like the words of Solomon Stoddard, the grandfather of Jonathan Edwards. What a great heritage he had. But Solomon Stoddard said that the purpose of preaching is not to strut our wit or eloquence, but to set the consciences of men on fire. Can I ask you something, friend? When's the last time you heard preaching that sets the consciences of men on fire? You don't hear it these days. Rather, we have preachers who sugarcoat the message, who prophesy smooth things, who say, peace, peace, where there is no peace. That's where we are today. And that's why our churches in Canada and the United States are in such a pitiful condition. We have overlooked, we have dismissed intentionally judgments from our minds, and even in our preaching. Whatever happened to the days of men like Leonard Ravenhill, who used to say, if in heaven they sing, word is the lamb, in hell they will sing, the harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved. I tell you, friend, if you've ever had the privilege of sitting under preaching like that, it's the mercy of God. Don't ever scorn it. Don't ever back off of it. You welcome preaching with intensity that will not only preach gospel promises, but also gospel warnings. Because I tell you, some people are going to have to be awakened out of their sleep. As Whitfield said, the church is in a deep sleep, and only a loud voice will awaken it. Thank God that God is raising up some men today with a prophetic message. There's a second thing you find in our text here. Another effect of being at ease in Zion is there's a love for pleasure more than a love for God. Look at verses 4 and 6. Chapter 6, verses 4 and 6. The Scripture says of these people, they lie upon beds of ivory. This priceless treasure.