THE NEED OF THE HOUR

Now as to the times and the precise season and dates, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you.  I Thess. 5:1

Paul has just instructed the Thessalonian believers about death and how those who die in Christ will be raptured when Jesus comes back.  Paul did not need to follow up with in-depth teaching about the ‘signs of the Lord’s coming’.  He knew they studied the scriptures and were already acquainted with the earlier texts.  That is an assumption most pastors today can not make.

We used to be the most Christian of nations, where there were more churches, per capita, than any other country on the globe.  Now, we live in a post-Christian era.  Revival is happening in Africa, Central America, and in China, not the U.S.  Other countries are sending missionaries to our borders because of our great need.

Many sermons in our own country last weekend consisted of a few inspirational stories followed by a motivational challenge, all centered on the slogan of a single verse of scripture.  Is this enough to feed the flock for the week ahead?  No.  The pastor might assume that his people are engaged in personal Bible study during the week.  He might reason that his sermon is simply supplemental spiritual food.  In a society of biblical illiteracy, that is a risky assumption.  He who loves his congregation will feed them.

Is there anything more important than learning, and then teaching, the scriptures?  Any of us who are called to face a Sunday School class, a small group, a weekly congregation, even a table full of children at an evening meal, must not fail to hear the cry of the Son of Man in Matthew 4:4  “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” We must see to our own spiritual sustenance, both privately and in church fellowship, knowing that disciples of Christ are never trained in an environment of malnourishment.

I do not waver from the challenge, to the end.  Amen