Animosity rages

Acts shares about the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles and all those gathered in the house. They go out into the streets; everyone shared the gospel, and all heard it. It goes onto share Peter’s first sermon leading to thousands coming to faith in Jesus. Other places in Acts record similar moments with the same results.

When you and I step into the pulpit, we hope and believe our hard work in preparing and passion will end with the same results as the apostles. But we only consider the moments when the crowds accepted Jesus by the thousands. We skip over the parts where the crowds react negatively, and the authorities throw the apostles in prison. In our mind, those reactions are bad. Not to the same scale as the apostles, but we deal with crossed arms and frowning faces. People complain we are too harsh and tear us down for making them notice their sin.

What does it mean when people respond that way to us? Does it mean that as preachers we are failures? Should we take a part our process in order and figure out how to be more favorable to our congregation? I cannot even pretend to be trying to answer that last question. Preaching is not about giving people what they want to hear, it is about sharing what God thinks they need to hear. Let us stick to the first question.

Hosea 9:8 The prophet is a watchman over Ephraim on behalf of God, yet traps are laid for him along all his paths; animosity rages against him in the land of God. (NET)

The prophet has been sent to God’s people. It does not say the prophet was summed there by the people but by God. Therefore, the prophet has a responsibility to share God’s message to God’s people. When the prophet speaks, this is not ideas he cooked up all by himself, they were given to him by the Holy Spirit.

When the people respond to the prophet, they are not responding to the prophet. They are responding to God. The people may or may not be doing so knowingly, but regardless the prophet’s words communicate God’s message to them. And God’s message always demands a response from the people.

There are only two responses, acceptance or rejection. But make no mistake, both are a response, and again not a response to the prophet but to God. In this case, the people laid out traps for the prophet. The hope was to discredit the messenger so they could rationally reject the message. And if that did not work, they would use anger and intimidation to get the prophet to back down. While the prophet might fall into the trap or even be silenced out of fear, neither tactic would hinder God. As a matter of fact, God saw their response for what it was, rejection and rebellion.

Preacher, the people are responding. You are putting in the work, hearing from God and are sharing His message. The people are responding. I know it can be discouraging to see the altars empty, attitudes and hearts remaining defiant. But that does not mean the hearers have not changed. Whenever we encounter God and His truth, it demands a response. Those encounters change us because of that fact.

Keep preaching the Word. Explore methods and listen to other preachers as you hone your craft. Continue to put in the study time. Rely on the Holy Spirit, both in your life and the message. Also, trust that the Holy Spirit will continue to work on those who are under conviction and raging animosity towards you.

written by Jason Barnett. Jason is the pastor at Greensburg Church of the Nazarene, in Greensburg, KY. You can LISTEN to his sermons via The Dirt Path Sermon Podcast. FOLLOW him on twitter and The Dirt Path Facebook page.