[0:00] Tonight, I realize that we come from different areas and different backgrounds, different churches, different upbringings.
[0:12] For some of you, being in a church where people say amen is a foreign thing, and for others of you, it may be a little tame around here for your liking. And I realize that from all different, there's all sorts in here.
[0:24] And even in a smaller crowd, still, we've got a little bit of everything. And I know that for some of you, the church is kind of this high church thought, a bit, what's the right word there, a bit cultured maybe, a bit formal.
[0:40] And calling out, calling back to the preacher is just almost looked down upon. But then there's another extreme to that, to where some people come up in what they call the Deep South, Shouting Baptist country.
[0:52] And they got a name, Shouting Baptist, for a reason, because they get it on. And if they're not shouting and red in the face and going crazy, then they don't think they're having meeting or having church.
[1:05] So there's a wide variety, depending on the part of the country you're from, the place in the world you're from, maybe the denomination you came up under or something like that. And so some people frown on it.
[1:18] Some people amen themselves when they're preaching. If nobody else amens them, they'll amen. You remember Brother Spurgeon standing here saying something, and he turned around and he goes, Amen, preacher! And says, I'll amen myself, because that's good preaching.
[1:31] And some guys do that. Brother Pilkington's going to be your Sunday, and I bet you he's going to say, Amen! Amen! I bet you he's going to say it. And I'm going to say, Amen! Because I like him saying it.
[1:41] I don't mind that a bit. Now, there's some places that are, some churches that are really stiff, and some churches that get so big that the auditorium's so large that to say, Amen, almost feels like I can't do it.
[1:56] I can't, I'd have to shout at the top of my lungs for my voice to get all the way up there to the preacher, and it just would get lost in this congregation. And so it's easier just to not say anything.
[2:06] It's almost like the place got too big, so it just hushes everything. And there's also an environment that's so polished that I went to a college for a few months and didn't last there very long, but I was there nonetheless.
[2:23] And in the orientation to the place, when they said, We're having our services on Sunday, you're not allowed to say anything in the sanctuary. You have to be quiet. And the reason is, they said, it's because it'll mess up the production, and we've got cameras rolling on the preacher, and everything was so finely tuned and organized and structured perfectly that there can't be any calling out from the crowd.
[2:46] That would be a distraction. So it just didn't feel like home. It didn't feel normal. It felt strange. And I didn't like that stiffness and that too stiff, too cultured feel, too polished.
[2:58] It just wasn't natural. And then there's the other, like I mentioned earlier, just this whole other, way other side of the place where people amen the offering, where they just get excited about everything.
[3:14] And sometimes it's good. Sometimes it's a little bit much. Sometimes there's hymnals that get airborne. Sometimes people run the aisles. And I even know of a guy, you may have seen it on YouTube, he dove into a baptismal pool.
[3:28] And I think that's a bit much. But who am I to judge? Waving hankies, standing up, shouting, running, whatever. I mean, if the Lord's in it, and if you're excited for the Lord and your heart's right, nothing gets me too worried and wound up.
[3:43] But sometimes I've seen some things that just kind of don't feel right. They feel like it's just flesh and somebody's trying too hard. And then there's the whole other Pentecostal thing where they think they're slain in the spirit and they fall and flop around on the floor like they're having a seizure.
[4:01] And some will even get up on all fours and bark like a dog. Literally, they'll bark like a dog. Some will get across the whole front and start laughing and just laugh. And that's nuts. That's crazy. There's something wrong with that.
[4:11] It's a wrong spirit. And they don't understand it. But that's not at all what I'm talking about. And so now that we know there's a large area here that we're covering, let's just consider some things from the Bible about this word, amen.
[4:27] Now, I chose Revelation 1 to start because we're going to be there for a little bit at the beginning. But notice there's something John writes, and I'll be in verses 6 and 7 to kick it off. As John's introducing the book in verse 4, it's to the seven churches.
[4:41] In verse 5, it's from Jesus Christ as well. And he talks about the Lord Jesus Christ for a minute. And as he continues talking about Christ, it says in verse 6, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father.
[4:53] To him be glory and dominion forever and ever. And John amens. I think John's amening himself or amening what he's being told to write. And in verse 7, And that's that word when he says he cometh with clouds, even so.
[5:18] Remember how the Bible closes in Revelation 22 with Jesus Christ saying, Surely I come quickly. And John says, Even so. Come, Lord Jesus. Amen.
[5:28] Amen. And then he closes the book with the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen again. And so John amens himself. He's amening from the beginning of the book, even in the end of the book.
[5:40] And there's a couple things I want to say about this word. Number one, it's a Bible word. It's a Bible word. It's a pure word. One of the pure words of God in your Bible. You know the word from the Bible.
[5:51] I realize it has kind of crept out into other areas at times. You may hear somebody in the world say, well, amen to that. And they picked it up from the church.
[6:02] And sometimes they're just mocking. But the word source, it comes from a Bible. It's a Bible word. And there's a reason for me saying that as we get through this. The word finds its roots, its function, its ties to the word of God and to the people of God.
[6:19] In other words, it's our word, as I'll show you. It's ours. It's a Bible word. It first appears in Moses' writings back in the book of Numbers as well as Deuteronomy.
[6:30] And the first time we'll look at it later is this. Well, I'll save that for later. But that's where it first shows up in your Bible. And so it's been in use a long time before there ever was a Baptist church or before there ever was a Christian or before ever Jesus Christ came to this earth or before he ever had his disciples.
[6:47] This word goes all the way back before the kings, before the prophets. It goes all the way back to Moses' writing in Deuteronomy and Numbers. So it's a Bible word. Secondly, it's a heavenly word.
[6:58] And you're in Revelation. Look at Revelation chapter 1 and verse number 18. Here's the Lord Jesus Christ speaking in the first person. I am he that liveth and was dead.
[7:10] And behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And have the keys of hell and of death. And there's Jesus Christ amening himself and talking about himself and amening himself.
[7:24] Isn't that neat? Isn't that interesting? And so if you want to be like Jesus Christ, well, he does it. Don't be afraid to do it yourself. I think specifically the part when he says that he's alive forevermore, that's what he's amening.
[7:40] And you're going to see that connection to that thought and that statement all over this book. Now, what I'm pointing out is this is a heavenly word. It's not a man-made word. It's not conceived by some congregation or some clergy.
[7:53] It's from the book and it has its place. In other words, the book of Revelation reveals this word is spoken of in worship around the throne of God.
[8:05] Look at chapter 5. It's a heavenly word. I want to notice a few times in Revelation where this word shows up and what they're doing. And this is really what kind of got my attention to this study actually years ago, making a few notes here in Revelation, seeing how this is a word that's fit for the throne of God and a worship of God in his holy place, heaven, around the throne.
[8:30] So Revelation 5, and we're going to read a few verses here. And what you're going to notice is in chapter 4, there's the 4 and 20 beasts, or I'm sorry, the 4 and 20 others, but there's 4 beasts that are in verse number 8.
[8:43] And they show up again in chapter 5. And so in verse 11 through 14, chapter 5, 11, And I beheld and heard the voice of many angels round about the throne, and the beasts and the elders, and the number of them was 10,000 times 10,000, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing.
[9:10] There's a mouthful right there, and that's some pretty good stuff. It's powerful stuff. And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing and honor and glory and power be unto him that sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb forever and ever.
[9:34] So there's this multitude and then multitude and multitude, just so many voices that are going forth and praising and putting that on the Lord. And in verse 14, the four beasts said, Amen.
[9:46] They heard that praise coming up from all these voices, and they said, Amen. Amen. And the 4 and 20 elders fell down and worshiped him that liveth forever and ever.
[9:57] That's what they're saying up in heaven, around the throne, when all those voices are shouting their blessing and glory and power to the Lamb. And they're up there saying, Amen. Amen.
[10:08] Look at chapter 7 and verse number 9. After this I beheld in low a great multitude, which no man could number of all nations and kindreds and people and tongues, stood before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes and palms in their hands, and cried with a loud voice saying, Salvation to our God, which sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb.
[10:31] And all the angels stood round about the throne and about the elders and the four beasts and fell before the throne and their faces and worshiped God saying, Amen.
[10:43] Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be unto our God forever and ever. Once again, Amen, they say. Come down to chapter 19.
[10:56] This is a heavenly word. It's broadcast around the throne of God when blessing and praise goes to the Lord God Almighty. And the people of God shouted out, Amen.
[11:09] Chapter 19, beginning in verse 1 through 6, it says, And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven saying, Alleluia, salvation and glory and honor and power unto the Lord our God, for true and righteous are his judgments.
[11:24] For he hath judged the great whore which did corrupt the earth with her fornication and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up forever and ever.
[11:37] And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshiped God that sat on the throne saying, Amen. Alleluia. And a voice came out of the throne saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him both small and great.
[11:52] And I heard it as it were the voice of a great multitude. And that would shake the place. And all the voice of many waters. And as the voice of mighty thundering saying, Alleluia, for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
[12:07] That is going to be something. That right there. But what you're seeing here is this thought, this word Amen is in the heavens. It's being proclaimed. It's being declared.
[12:18] It's being shouted when praise comes up. They echo it with an Amen. And so let that just plug into your head for a moment. And there's more. Come back to chapter 3.
[12:29] Revelation chapter 3. It's a Bible word. And you know it from the book. It's a heavenly word. It's just bouncing off the walls of heaven, if I could say that.
[12:44] In Revelation 3, I want to say something else. It's a divine word. That is, it's a name or a title that the Lord Jesus Christ has taken and put on himself.
[12:55] Revelation 3, verse 14. And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, These things saith the Amen, with a capital A, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God.
[13:12] You know who that is. He's the Lord Jesus Christ. He took that word and said, That's me. I am the Amen. And you'll notice the phrase that couples with it, the faithful and true witness right behind it.
[13:26] I think that's a fitting thing there. It's the connection. Something that's faithful, something that's true, is Amen worthy. And Jesus Christ calls himself the Amen.
[13:39] And there's another passage we could connect that to, but we don't have time for it. We've got a lot to go on tonight. Tonight, it's an affirmation here of truth, a declarity of some certainty of some absolute things.
[13:54] And the word Amen is a confirmation of that. Now, I want to look at its usage a little bit in the Bible. I'll be honest, I'm a little bit disorganized with my thoughts here tonight, with how I typically would put this in some form.
[14:10] I got so much on this. It was about two days worth of study, and I couldn't fit it all into one pretty thing. So we're going to bounce a little bit and say a lot. So far, so good.
[14:20] Let's look at the usage of this word. It's actually a few different usages or applications of the word Amen. And one that you're going to be really familiar with, if you want to turn and find Matthew chapter 6, and this is an easy one.
[14:36] But Matthew 6 is what everybody calls the Lord's Prayer. And he closes it with the word Amen. Amen. And so the point I'm going to make here is that it's a word of closure or conclusion.
[14:52] It's a closing word. It's how we close our prayers oftentimes. And here's a Bible example of that. Matthew chapter 6. And the Lord's, quote, unquote, the Lord's Prayer starts off up there in verse 9, halfway through with our Father which art in heaven.
[15:08] And by the time you get to verse 13, he says, Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Now, doesn't some of that language sound familiar from what we just read in Revelation?
[15:23] It's like Jesus Christ knows. I don't know. He's got his mind. The Bible says in John 3, The Son of Man which is in heaven while he was on earth. And he speaks like he knows what's going on up there.
[15:34] And he says, Amen, to close down that prayer. And so it's a closing word, a concluding word. And I think we're very, very familiar with that usage of the word Amen.
[15:46] There's several hymns in our hymnal, and some of which the word has kind of fallen out. But it wasn't in the old days. It was the close to the hymn. They would even sing it. They sing the final Amen. And some hymns may even still have that in there in this book.
[16:01] But that was a close. It was shutting it down. It's the last word in Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. And all four of the gospel writers close their epistle or their message by saying Amen.
[16:14] The Apostle Paul closes all of his epistles with the same word, Amen. Almost all of the New Testament books end with that very word. Almost all of them do. So it's a closing word.
[16:25] Several of the Psalms end with this phrase, Amen and Amen. It's like this compounded Amen. Like one says Amen, and somebody else Amens that Amen and agrees that that was the right thing to say.
[16:39] So that's an interesting way to conclude a psalm. Amen and Amen. It's a concluding word. Secondly, about its usage, it's a word of acceptance. Look at Numbers chapter 5.
[16:50] I'll take you through the Bible now a little bit. Numbers chapter 5. And I realize I'm going to be moving pretty fast with some of this, so I try to keep up.
[17:06] I just have a lot of material tonight. Numbers 5. This is the passage about the law of jealousies. And when a husband suspects that his wife's being unfaithful to him and committed a trespass against him, and then he takes her before the priest, it's called the spirit of jealousy if it comes upon him in verse 14.
[17:27] And so not to go over the entirety of this passage, but what happens is this woman has to take an oath of a curse. And what she does is she takes a drink of some potion, we call it, the dust of the temple floor and some water, and it comes up to something that's going to cause a curse.
[17:50] And if she's guilty, and I forget the wording, it's going to be her thigh rot and her belly, or maybe I'm saying that backwards, her belly rot or thigh swells, one of the two.
[18:01] It's right here. Oh, it's in verse 22. We're going to read it in a second here. So let's catch 22. And I'll start in 21. Then the priest shall charge the woman with an oath of cursing, and the priest shall say unto the woman, The Lord make thee a curse and an oath among this people, when the Lord doth make thy thigh to rot and thy belly to swell.
[18:19] And this water that causeth the curse shall go into thy bowels and to make thy belly to swell and thy thigh to rot. And the woman shall say, Amen, Amen.
[18:30] Now, if she's innocent, nothing happens, and she's fine, and she goes back to her jealous husband. But what's she doing here? Well, you might say she's agreeing, and people typically say it means agreeing.
[18:42] I say it's accepting. She's accepting the terms. She's acknowledging this curse by saying, Amen. Amen, Amen.
[18:53] And so I say it's a term of acceptance. She's accepting the consequences. This is the first time it's mentioned in the Bible. Now, flip to the next book to your right, and that's where we'll find Deuteronomy, chapter 27.
[19:06] I'm not going to read all the verses here, but it's a long list of curses being pronounced on the people if they make a graven or molten image or an abomination or makes the blind to wander out of the way.
[19:22] It's just a perverting judgment to the strangers. It's a list of things. Don't do this. A curse that is this. And after the end of each one of these, you can see it from verses 15 to the end, you see the people, all the people shall answer and say, Amen.
[19:38] Amen. This is a curse, Israel, if you live this way. And they say, Amen. Now, they're agreeing, I would say, but they're accepting the terms.
[19:49] Sometimes we will live under God's curse if we do those things. And don't you know it? They amened it, and then they went and did it anyway.
[20:00] But there's the word, and there's a usage of the word and an application of it being a word of acceptance. Now, I really don't have the time to run through all of these things here, so I'm just going to fast forward this.
[20:15] It is absolutely a word of agreement, and I've got a few passages where even in the wording of the verse where they say, Amen, they say something like, The Lord say so too, or The Lord do so.
[20:27] Jeremiah said that one time when the false prophets were prophesying peace, and Jeremiah said, Amen, The Lord do so. Exactly what you said, preacher. That's what we want to see, but the truth is that's not coming, and that's not going to happen.
[20:41] And so what typically, if you ask somebody what the word Amen means, they'd say it means so be it, or be it so, or something like that, or true, it's true.
[20:53] And so it's a word of agreements or agreeance. Another thing that really comes out of the Bible strongly in Pauline epistles, I'd like you to turn to the book of Romans chapter 1 here.
[21:05] I know we're just hopping and hopping, but we'll try to make some conclusions and bring it together. In Romans chapter 1, it's also a word of emphasis, a word of reinforcement of the certainty or of the faithfulness of a thing that's being stated.
[21:33] That's where John and Jesus Christ both said Amen to what they were stating. It's putting some reinforcement on it. There's things that Paul and other writers in the New Testament say about the Lord that just bear repeating, or they, at least, you might say they warrant a term of expression that just kind of stresses it a little bit stronger.
[21:56] It emphasizes, it reaffirms the statement. And that's what it is. And there's a list of them here. I'm not going to turn you to all of them, but I'll turn you to a few here in Romans chapter 1. And look at verse number 25.
[22:10] Speaking of a people that were unthankful and became vain. And it says in verse 25, Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the creator, who is blessed forever.
[22:24] Amen. You see how it just tags on something about the Lord there? It's talking about some wicked, vile man. But when it hits the Lord, the creator, just can't say that by itself.
[22:36] Who is blessed forever? And then an emphatic Amen on top of it. Look at chapter 9. Romans chapter 9. You're going to see this very similar thing, how it's used in reinforcing our emphasis.
[22:56] Chapter 9 and verse number 5. I'll start in 4. Who are Israelites, to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises.
[23:07] Whose are the fathers? And of whom is concerning the flesh? Christ came, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen. Again, you hit Jesus Christ, you hit something, it's talking about the Jews, and then all of a sudden, he hits Christ, and just, and by the way, he is this, he is that, and amen to that.
[23:28] Here's another one, chapter 11, verse 36. Love this verse. Romans 11, 36. For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things, to whom be glory, forever.
[23:47] Amen. Amen. Paul's not like concluding here with that, he's emphasizing that statement about the Lord. And this is gonna, what I'm showing you is some Bible here, but I'm gonna make a point with that, so stick with that.
[24:04] Look at chapter 16. Oh man, it's all over chapter 16 at the end. It's a couple places. It's like there's a, it's the end of verse 20.
[24:18] It's the end of verse 24. It's the end of 27. 27 is the one I want. To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever.
[24:31] Amen. Now, I'm gonna read off a list here. You don't need to bother turning. You won't be able to write fast enough to get all of these. I doubt if you wanted them.
[24:42] But in Galatians 1 verse 5, where Paul writes, he says, to whom be glory forever and ever. Then he punches that amen on the end of it. Unto him be glory in the church, by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end.
[24:54] Amen. Now unto the king, eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. You hear that theme of this worship and praise to God?
[25:07] The whole book isn't written like that. But when those little clauses and phrases come in, the amen punches right behind it. In the end of 1 Timothy 6 verse 16, speaking of God, it says, who only hath immortality dwelling in the light, which no man can approach unto, whom no man hath seen nor can see, to whom be honor and power everlasting.
[25:31] Amen. To whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. Working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
[25:42] Peter says it too, that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion forever and ever. Amen. In Revelation 1, we already read what John said, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever.
[25:56] Amen. You know what the Bible's doing? You know what it's doing? It's training you to say amen. And it's training you when to say amen.
[26:08] I don't know if you caught through any of that. It probably didn't stand out to you, but now it does. When the Lord Jesus Christ is getting exalted and lifted up, it's our duty, it's our position in place to say amen to that.
[26:24] It's to place our stamp of approval and agreement and affirmation upon the exaltation of Jesus Christ. The Bible's teaching you to do that.
[26:35] When you read and hear something that's so profound, when you hear from the preaching of the word of God, something that is true and something that is right, the Bible teaches you how to respond to that and how to acknowledge that and how to place your approval and your voice of agreement upon that statement of truth by saying amen.
[26:56] Now come back to the Old Testament for a, we're not going to run too much more. Back to the Old Testament to 1 Chronicles. 1 Chronicles 16.
[27:11] And then not too far away, find Nehemiah 8. I'll give you a few minutes. Nehemiah 8, 1 Chronicles 16. And so there's some usages within the scriptures and how this word is used.
[27:37] It's a closing or concluding word. It's a term or word of acceptance, of agreement, of emphasis. And then I want to say again, something I said at the beginning.
[27:49] It's a word that belongs to the people of God. To the people of God. It's a term of the Lord's congregation. So in 1 Chronicles, I want you in chapter 16.
[28:03] And in this, this is David getting a sacrifice together, getting, assembling a choir together, and even delivering a psalm.
[28:16] You'll see that in verse 7. Then on that day, David delivered first this psalm to thank the Lord into the hand of Asaph and his brethren. And so he delivers this psalm. And it's, you can read it again later on in the book of the psalms.
[28:30] I think it's 105. And you could read down, he's just, this is something he wrote. And so come to the very end of this psalm, which would be about verse, we'll start in verse 34.
[28:41] He says, Oh, give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endureth forever. And say ye, save us, O God of our salvation, and gather us together, and deliver us from the heathen, that we may give thanks to thy holy name, and glory in thy praise.
[28:57] Blessed be the Lord God of Israel forever and ever. And there it ends. And notice the response. And all the people said, Amen. And praise the Lord.
[29:09] This is a word that belongs in the people, in the mouth, I should say, of the people of God. Come to Nehemiah now. This will be your last place you have to turn tonight. Nehemiah chapter 8.
[29:22] And this is a great, great passage here, of some things getting reinstalled, into its proper place, and proper worship being restored.
[29:40] And Ezra gets the book out. Verse number 5, it says, And Ezra opened the book, in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people. And when he opened it, all the people stood up.
[29:52] And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen. Amen. With lifting up their hands, and they bowed their heads and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground.
[30:06] All the people answered, Amen. Amen. Not the men. Not the deacons. All the people.
[30:17] All the people of God heard Ezra open the book and bless the Lord, the great God. And what he said to the Lord, the great God, the people echoed that very thought in agreement, in emphasis, and said, Amen.
[30:34] Amen. This is a Bible word. It's a heavenly word that's being, being bombarded, bombarding the throne of God in a good way.
[30:45] It's a word that we saw that when those praises come up, they echo it right onto that throne. Amen. We're on board with that. That's good stuff. It's a word of acceptance and agreement.
[30:58] And it's a word that belongs in your mouth. This word, Amen, it ought to ring from our lips with certainty and with purpose.
[31:10] And I know that some politician or some actor can say, Amen to that or say, I say, Amen. Or they can use the word. They can try to borrow or steal it from the people of God.
[31:20] But you know that it has never caught on in any sphere on this planet. It only has caught on and landed and has real force and power among the people of God when we're praising God and when we're delivering the word of God.
[31:36] It's our word. It's absolutely our word. You know that song we sang tonight? It said at the last verse, it said, it described the people coming before the presence of the Lord.
[31:48] It said, Let the Amen sound from His people again. Like that phrase. I've always loved that phrase. It's calling on God's people to Amen. Now, I want to say something about your Amen.
[32:03] When you Amen, you, from your pew, when you Amen in church, whether it's the song, whether it's the preaching, the word of God, the truth, whatever it is, what you're doing is you're carrying the truth just a little bit further.
[32:19] You're not allowing it to just go forth and just die. But you're taking it and just spreading it around a little bit further around this place. You know, I don't know if you know this or not, but sometimes in preaching, you can feel like there's just resistance.
[32:36] You can feel, sometimes you can feel, sometimes you just, in a church this size, you know exactly what it is. But in a bigger church, you may not know. And I've heard preachers say, even to the degree, like I really believe somebody's lost, I even think they're in the back.
[32:51] And it's nothing spooky. It's just like they can, you just feel something when you're putting it out. You're putting it out. It's just like it goes out and lands. Sometimes it feels like it just goes out and hits.
[33:01] And it just, it's not going through. It's not carrying. I know that sounds spooky to you or strange. And I surely don't want to leave some weird impression on you at all. But when you amen, you're taking that truth and just carrying it across the church.
[33:18] You're letting it permeate in the congregation. You're resounding it just like they are up there at the throne shouting amen, not letting those blessings fall to the ground.
[33:30] And your amen carries the truth a little further. Your amen backs the preacher and more importantly backs the word of God. I think a quiet church can be a scary place to be.
[33:41] It can be a terrible thing. I know that not all the subject matter is, it's not suitable to just be amen-ing everything. If I said the rich man died and in hell he lifted up his eyes being in torments, I wouldn't expect anybody to say amen.
[34:00] And it's true. It's just as true as Lazarus being carried by the angels in Abraham's bosom. But, you know, some things just weren't really, they just don't need that extra punch.
[34:10] And sometimes the topic or the message or the thought doesn't warrant that voice seconding the truth. But you church, and especially men in this church, women aren't excluded at all, but men especially have a duty and a responsibility to vocalize your agreeance with the word of God that's being preached and proclaimed.
[34:36] that you are in subjection to the preached word of God. Your amen is a way for you to participate in the service, it's a way for you to announce your agreement, and more than that, it's a testimony to the church.
[34:51] It's a testimony to the church that you agree with the preached word of God. It's your verbal witness, it's testifying to the truth that's being spoken and proclaimed.
[35:03] And I say it's necessary that a church be filled with those witnesses that will witness to the truth of the word of God being proclaimed in the pulpit. I think it's important.
[35:14] I think children need to know that mom and dad agree with what the preacher says. They agree with what the Bible says, and so they amen it, and they're not ashamed of it.
[35:26] Other brothers and sisters need to know that you're on board with the truth. When you hear the word of God, when you hear some things, you need to let the church know that that's the truth.
[35:37] I'm right on that one. I don't mean like I'm right in agreement with that one. And you do that with a hearty amen. Now we're running out of time, and I want to finish with some cautions, though.
[35:48] I want to throw some suggestions out to you. And I say all of this stuff, you just, he that hath an ear, let him hear. But don't amen because you feel like you have to.
[36:03] I don't think anybody should amen because they feel like they have to or because the preacher is telling them to amen them. I personally, and it's just me, my personality, it might be a little bit wrong, I don't know.
[36:14] Maybe it's pride, maybe it's rebellion, but when a preacher gets all like, you need to be amen in that, I just feel like, you ain't gonna tell me what to do. I'm not gonna amen you. I just get that little bit of resistance to them, and maybe you're feeling that right now to me tonight.
[36:31] I don't know. But no, what I mean is when a preacher gets all pushy and tries to force you to vocalize something or force you to come to the altar, like I don't know, that doesn't bear witness with me at all.
[36:43] I disdain that. I've been around it some, and it just, that bothers me. And so my suggestion is don't amen because you feel like you have to.
[36:53] Let it come from the inside of you. Let it come from your heart. And when you feel that stirring, you won't hear every, you won't feel it on every statement. Amen, amen, that won't be natural to you.
[37:07] But along the way, there'll be something, there'll be some truth that rings and resonates in your heart. Let it out. Let the congregation know. Don't say amen because you have to, but rather, let it come from the heart that you believe the truth of the word of God.
[37:25] I don't want to be the guy that tries to pressure you, and I don't really care for preachers that do that. And so I suggest that if that's the case, don't do it. But if it's in your heart, then let it out.
[37:37] And so to couple that, on the other hand, don't be intimidated or shy, and don't be in subjection to your old nature who's going to tell you to keep your mouth shut, and don't you make a peep in church.
[37:50] Don't be shy. You can say amen, and you can still maintain your dignity. You don't have to stand up and shake the pews and rattle the windows. You don't have to pump your fist in the air or wave a hanky or take your coat off and flip it around and jump.
[38:05] You don't have to do any of that. It's not that complicated. You can just say amen. It's pretty easy. There's no course that you have to pass.
[38:17] It's just that simple. And I'm sure of it. I've experienced it. More often than not, it's your flesh that gets in the way and controls you from being vocal.
[38:31] When you feel like saying it, being saying it in church and saying something out loud, immediately, something inside says no or something inside says, like, the people beside you or in front or behind, like, automatically, now you just, you're all, you know.
[38:44] You weren't thinking about them a second ago, but now you are. And so I say, don't be intimidated. Don't be shy. If the Lord touches your heart, say amen.
[38:58] And also, on top of that, nobody's going to care. Nobody around you is going to care. The preacher's not going to stop and look at you and point you out and say, what did you just say? Did you just amen that?
[39:10] And nobody's going to do anything. As a matter of fact, nobody's probably even going to hear you. Nobody's even going to notice it. If you do it four or five times, it's just going to blend in to an entirety of a congregation receiving the word of God, voicing their agreement with it and their thankfulness for it.
[39:31] And we're one big happy family. Number three, some cautions and suggestions. We're almost done. Don't be a distraction. Your response should be a support to the preaching, your contribution to the truth and the service.
[39:48] It should be assisting the voice of truth, not taking away from it. And a distraction absolutely takes away. The Bible says, let all things be done decently and in order.
[39:59] And I know that it's very unlikely that this is going to be the case here, that anybody's going to be really trying to draw attention to themselves. And I'm not really saying it to individuals here, but just understand it and let it be known.
[40:13] Don't let it be a distraction. I've seen it too many times and I don't have time to tell you the stories, but I could say from a young lady that sat on the front pew in a revival service that amened everything.
[40:23] At first, it was like, wow, she's really fired up. Man, that's a pretty good girl up there. Wow. And then it became obvious like something's wrong. She's out amening every man in this church collectively.
[40:36] It's like she doesn't even stop. And by the end of the service, it was something is definitely wrong with her. She's trying to get attention. And before it was all done, then before the meeting went on to the next time, somebody had to sit her down and talk to her and say, knock it off.
[40:52] And it was a distraction. It wasn't, it was flesh. It was something wrong. I've seen a bunch of things that were distractions and I don't anticipate that being the case here at all.
[41:05] And so, don't really have to park there. Final thing about it is a suggestion from my personal perspective is don't amen the carnal stuff if you can't amen the spiritual stuff.
[41:19] And what I mean by that is preachers will, we're going to have a couple come in here in a few days and they'll say some funny things and they'll say some things just to try to soften you up to let your guard down so that you like them to ease the attitude and the vibe in the room.
[41:34] And they'll say some goofy stuff and they may want you to say amen to it. That's fine. But if they get talking about their favorite cup of coffee or where they, you know, Coke or Pepsi and you're like, oh, amen to that.
[41:48] If you can't amen him preaching about the blood of Christ or that certain denominations are damning souls to hell and you can't amen that, then don't amen Starbucks. Don't amen your basketball team.
[42:00] That's what I'm saying. If you can't amen the spiritual stuff, then don't open your mouth during the carnal stuff. I've been around guys that have been in church for a long, long time and they don't speak out.
[42:11] They don't amen. They don't have any spiritual vibe or demeanor in the body of Christ, the congregation. They never come to the altar.
[42:21] They never show any signs that any life in them spiritually. But if you tell some jokes or you want to, oh, they're alive. They can talk.
[42:32] They can goof. They can do all that. But when it comes to the word of God and truth and it's just stoic, clam up. My suggestion, if you can't amen the spiritual stuff, you can't open your mouth and back the preacher on the word of God, then don't goof off with the other stuff.
[42:48] That's just, that's not a good balance is my thought there. So I'm not attempting here tonight to solicit your amens. That's not the thought.
[42:59] But what I'd rather call it is attempting to train you from the word of God in proper biblical worship and proper biblical practices.
[43:11] and this is one of them. And there's plenty of truth that gets declared from this King James Bible and this pulpit from week to week. And you can join in and you can voice your approval, your agreement, and your acceptance.
[43:25] And you can add to the service. And the timing of this is really because we've got a meeting coming up in a few days. And we're going to have some good preaching here. I mean, it's going to be grade A stuff.
[43:38] And you're going to get some truth. And you're going to have an opportunity to respond to that truth. And you're going to have an opportunity to agree with that truth. And again, it's not about you getting attention on you and nothing to do with that.
[43:53] But I believe, especially the men in here, don't be ashamed and don't be afraid to be vocal, to be alive, to have some life in these walls.
[44:04] And do it by saying that good old-fashioned Bible four-letter word, amen. That's it. So, I hope you can take that and swallow it and chew on it.
[44:16] And I hope that by Sunday you've got a little fire in you and you're okay to just not be shy and not be ashamed and to just call out and let the church know.
[44:27] Let the redeemed of the Lord say so. And you'll have a great opportunity coming up soon. So, we'll be dismissed with that. And Lord willing, I'll see a couple of you Saturday morning at 8.
[44:38] and then... ... ...
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