Afflict the Comfortable

We live in a day, friends, where there is a famine in the land, a famine for hearing the word of God. Oh, you can go to church today and hear man's opinion on things, but you'll be hard-pressed to hear from God. One of the great judgments on a people is the removal of prophets from them.

God sent prophet after prophet to the Jews, but they just killed them off one by one until God gave them leaders that they deserved, the Pharisees and scribes, religious leaders who knew not God, the blind leading the blind, where both tumble into a ditch and rot there. America has rejected the God of the Bible, both in society and in the pew, and God has withdrawn his presence from among us and allowed dumb dogs who cannot bark to fill pulpit after pulpit across this land. The result is the true gospel is seldom preached and few are being saved.

Now, that's the sad, tragic picture of where we are today. A preacher's job is to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable. My message this evening, friends, is on the latter, and the title of my message is Afflict the Comfortable.

My text can be found in the book of Acts in chapter 26. You can turn in your Bibles there now, friends. We'll begin in verse 17.

There are some very sincere and godly pastors across this land who truly care about the sheep under their care, and a majority of their preaching falls to messages on spiritual growth and Bible exposition. Just pick a pastor and scan his sermon catalog and most of the messages will be on comforting the afflicted and encouraging his congregation onto spiritual growth, and there's nothing wrong with that as long as you have balance. The trouble is the majority of a pastor's congregation are in a perishing condition as lost church members who need to hear thundering messages to awaken them from their false foundations and point them to the Christ who can save them.

A person who is asleep in a house fire cannot be roused by sweet talk and whispers. He must be violently awakened to his great danger if he is to be saved. When the Almighty was atop Mount Sinai, the people below trembled at all the smoke and fire and rumblings of thunder.

George Whitefield, the great British evangelist, used to say, a sinner must first be brought to Mount Sinai before he can be brought to Mount Zion. The law must be preached before grace. Those who preach the gospel must preach it in its purity and proper order.

A sinner must feel his need of a savior from sin before he is offered one. Well, that's my introduction, friends. Let's get down to our text this evening from Acts 26, and we'll be in verses 14 through 18.

The Apostle Paul in our scene is before King Agrippa as he relates the story of his conversion. And in his story is the purpose of the gospel and his commission. And this is the heart of my message this evening, friends.

Here now is the word of God, and may the Spirit of the Lord be pleased to attend the reading of his holy word. And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? It's hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest.

But rise and stand upon thy feet, for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness, both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee, delivering thee from the people and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee. Let me pause here, friends. The apostle Paul is about to receive the mission of all God's messengers, and that mission is found in the next verse of our text.

All preachers should be consumed with this mission from Christ Jesus, which is the purpose of the preaching of the gospel of the Son of God. Listen to what that purpose is. To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins.

I will stop there. Let's examine the gospel message. Number one, a sinner's eyes must be opened to his lost condition.

He must be awakened to his great danger of dying in his sins. He must be warned to flee from the wrath to come, that God is a God who must punish sin, and that all men are guilty rebels who have broken the law of God by sin, and the sentencing of the law must be carried out. It is appointed unto man, once to die, and after that the judgment, the prison of a burning hell, awaits every man who dies in his sins, outside of Christ.

Religion won't save you, friend. Good works won't save you either. Your righteousness won't save you.

You must get to Christ and get under His blood for pardon of sin. So a person's eyes must be opened to see their grave danger. A patient will not believe his doctor's bad news until he sees the black mark of cancer on the x-ray.

Then he will tremble under it and do all he can to find a cure, a remedy that will save him. One must realize they are a guilty sinner who deserves hell. They must be brought to the foot of the cross as a lost sinner seeking mercy.

They have to see themselves as sin sick before the remedy for sin in the person of Jesus Christ can be applied. Secondly, they must be turned from darkness to light. A man is dead and trespasses in sin.

He lives in spiritual darkness. The things of God are mere nonsense to him. He must receive a new nature through the new birth, which is regeneration.

Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. How can I be saved? Jesus said, I am the way.

How can I be sure? Jesus said, I am the truth. How can I be satisfied? Jesus said, I am the life. Jesus told Nicodemus, ye must be born again.

A person must be turned from darkness to light. Thirdly, and from the power of Satan unto God, Jesus told the Pharisees, ye are of your father the devil. A lost sinner lives in the kingdom of darkness and is a subject of Satan.

All the devil has to do is crook his finger and you willingly go into the pleasures of sin. You love your sins. You hold your pet's sin dear to your heart.

No one can tear that idol away from you nor coax you out of your beloved pig pen. A hog likes his wallah because he is true to his nature. But when Christ redeems you, the power of sin is broken.

A new disposition for holiness is implanted in you. Your eyes are open to spiritual things, things of eternal worth are now the things which consume you. The gospel must be preached in its purity and proper order and men must be warned of the danger of sin and the peril of a lost condition.

In 2 Corinthians 5.11 Paul states, Knowing the terror of the Lord, we persuade men. Men must know how much a holy God hates sin and that God must punish sin. God declares, The soul that sinneth, it shall die.

In the book of Ezekiel, a preacher finds both his duty and his message that is to afflict the comfortable. Listen to the accountability of all spiritual watchmen as seen in Ezekiel 3.17-18 Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel. Therefore hear the word at my mouth and give them warning from me.

When I say unto the wicked, thou shalt surely die. And thou givest him not warning nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way. To save his life, the same wicked man shall dine his iniquity.

But his blood will I require at thine hand. Believe, friends, we preachers have forgotten that we ought to save lives first and foremost before we make lives more comfortable. If you're not safe, friend, flee to the only refuge and remedy from sin in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.

You must get to Christ to get under his blood for forgiveness of sin or you will surely die in your iniquity, face a future judgment and be cast into a burning hell of misery and torment forever and ever. You have been warned by this poor preacher. Now it's up to you.

Let us pray.