(Clip) A Preacher Is Not Without Honor Except — Shane Idleman

The Paradoxical Greatness of Jesus

Think about this for a minute. The greatest that ever lived, clearly, was he not? He had no servants, yet they called him master. He had no degree, yet they called him teacher. He had no medicines, yet they called him healer.

Judgment, Repentance, and Refuge at the Cross

He had no army, yet kings feared him. He won no military battles, yet he conquered the world. He had no crime, yet they crucified him. He had no need, yet he forgave them as they mocked him. He was buried in a tomb, yet he lives today.

Amen, amen. And there's an old hymn out there. The title is, And Will the Judge Descend? And Will the Judge Descend? It says this, And must the dead arise, and not a single soul escape his all-discerning eyes?

Depart from me, a curse to everlasting flame, for you rebel angels first prepared, where mercy never came. Ye sinners, seek his face, or seek his grace, whose wrath he cannot bear. Fly to the shelter of the cross, and find salvation there.

Oh, the old hymns, you gotta love those, compared to our contemporary worship songs, right? They're so easy sometimes. Just open the eyes of my heart, Lord. Oh, bless his holy name, and all those are good, but you have to go back sometimes and remember, they could write them.

Ye sinners, seek his grace, whose wrath you cannot bear. Fly to the shelter of his cross, and find salvation there. That's what we should be telling the world. It's okay, it's okay, did you know it's okay?

As long as you're filled with love and humility, and you might weep a little bit as you tell people there, ye sinners, flee to the cross. There is a judgment to come. The righteous judgment of God will fall upon a disobedient people.

The Prophets' Call to Repentance

Jesus said it, God said it, through all the prophets from Isaiah, and Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, and Daniel, and Joel, and Amos, and Obadiah, and Jonah, and Micah, and Nahum, and Abbaka, Zephaniah, and Zechariah, Haggai, and Malachi, they all preached repentance, calling God's people back to him.

There's a judgment coming, there's a God who loves you, there's a God who will not forsake you, but you've gotta turn from the wrath that is to come. It's repentance, repentance, repentance. Oh, if I had it, if I had it, I would pay $100 ,000 and have Joel Osteen play that tonight on his message going out, would you not?

Would you not? The people would be shocked. They'd be mortified. There's an author, he said when some people, when they first come under the sound of Holy Ghost preaching, they are mortally offended because the white light of the gospel is exposing their sin.

The Cost of Faithful Preaching

Guys, that's our hope, that's our hope. It's one of the most difficult parts of this church. I'll just share with you, we've had thousands and thousands of people come to this church, and this is the number one reason most don't stick.

Everything I just said is too hard, it's too offensive, you're too loud. How am I supposed to act when the souls of millions are on the table? I gotta stand before God and say, I did what you called me to do, the gifting you put in me.

And you will, you will not be, you will, listen, I gave up, I gave, it's by God's sheer grace, sheer grace that he is getting this message out to tens of thousands of people every month. Everywhere, we're on the Trump Tower, about ready to go Monday through Friday in New York at a prime time.

See, God's getting, he doesn't care, God doesn't care. The majority of the church won't like this preaching, they won't like this preaching, you can put on these popular guys, they love that because you can soothe me while I'm in my sin, but as soon as you start to step on toes, or call it out, or call the nation to repentance, Jesus didn't say his word is like a pillow or a feather, soft, comfortable, he said my word is like a burning fire, my word is like a hammer that will break the rock in pieces, my word is like a sword that devours, the righteous indignation is on my lips and I will preach the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ.

Fearing God Over Popularity

There's something, there's something precious in fearing God and preaching the totality of scripture and not caring, I've got to a point, I don't care what people think, and people might take that the wrong way.

I'm very concerned with what people think in regard to character and how we do things, but when it comes to God's word, I'm not going okay, okay, is that gonna popularity contest? Is that gonna hit the top ranks at YouTube?

It's like God, what are you saying to your people? What are you saying to your church? And the more we do this, the more he just exploded the message getting out there. The message, just God is getting, it's amazing to me.

If you look at all the different places where we started nine years ago with nothing but a little tiny camera you held, but it gets frustrating because so many people in your own community, a preacher is not without honor except in his own country among his own people.

The Rejection of Prophets in Their Own Communities

Oh, I've lived that, that's my, when I die, so that might be what you might want to consider for the tombstone, and it's so true. It's hard to walk that line. The prophets of the Old Testament were not popular.

Were they? They want to kill Jeremiah. It was said that King Manasseh saw Isaiah in half. They were outcast, they were ridiculed, they were ran out of the town by the people, but they spoke to the remnant.

They spoke to the remnant. It's so interesting, God said, Jeremiah said, but I'm just a youth, and God said, you're gonna go to who I send you. You're gonna pull up, and you're gonna root out. You're gonna pull down, and you're going to plant again.

Preparing the Church Through Repentance and Prayer

The voice of one speaking for God often pulls out. You gotta pull the weeds before you can plant the seeds. You've gotta get the heart clean. Can you imagine American church again on their face before God at the altar, where you actually might look like the church in China.

They can't tell you from the underground church in China. They have six-hour prayer meetings that start at 4 a .m. They can't tell the American church. Now they can tell the American church. Now, oh, that's a one-hour church service, and then they head to the buffet.

They're not hungry for God. Do you know, I think there's, I don't know the exact number, 50 ,000 maybe missionaries coming to Los Angeles from a different country next year. Thank God, but that's embarrassing, because we have hundreds of thousands of Christians, and we don't even talk to our neighbor.

Now, why do I say all that? To have you leave here ticked off? No, to stir the pot, to ruffle feathers, so you can, oh, man. He's right, though. Say, God, I need that to be broken before God. A broken people seeking God is how we're gonna change things.