But then I want you to notice this. Spare not. Spare not. You know what spare not means?
It's don't remove anything. Don't take anything out.
See, we believe in hard preaching. We believe in churches that have hard preaching,
but I don't think a lot of churches understand what hard preaching is.
So you know what the problem with Joel Osteen says, with Joel Osteen's preaching?
The problem with Joel Osteen's preaching is not that he won't yell, although he should yell,
but that's not the problem. The problem with Joel Osteen's preaching,
it's not that he preaches, you know, 15-minute sermonettes,
although he should probably preach more, you know, if he had something to say,
you know, maybe it could be a little longer, but that's not the problem.
The problem is not that he, you know, he smiles the entire time he's preaching.
I mean, you know, he's probably spent a lot of money on those teeth.
He wants to show those things off, you know.
The problem with Joel Osteen is not what he says.
If you listen to what he says, everything he says, I'm sure,
except for when he's being interviewed by, you know,
Larry King and he's really pushing him on something,
everything he says, here's the thing, these liberals, everything they say is fine.
They don't say anything that negative.
They can't say anything that negative.
They have 10,000, 15,000, 20,000 people come hear them preach.
There's nothing they're saying that's offending anybody.
See, the problem with lame liberal preaching is not what they say,
but it's what they won't say.
It's what they refuse to say.
See, the problem with these lame liberal Baptists is not,
you can go to some Baptist church, I go to these conferences from time to time,
and I think to myself, you know, everything that guy said I agree with,
everything that guy said is fine.
There's nothing wrong with what he said.
But what he would not say, that's what I have an issue with.
Cry aloud.
Here's hard preaching.
Spare not.
When you don't take anything out.
When you go through all of it.
When you preach the whole counsel of God.
Cry aloud.
Spare not.
Lift up thy voice like a trumpet.
Again, talking about being loud.
Trumpets are loud.
And notice, here's hard preaching.
And show my people their transgression and the house of Jacob their sin.
You know what makes hard preaching hard preaching?
It's when you actually point out people's sins.
When you say drunkenness is a sin, fornication is a sin,
shacking up together and living together when you're not married is a sin.
When you actually have application, when you point out and you show people
their transgression and the house of Jacob their sin.
That's what hard preaching is.
Now today we're being told that won't work.
Get rid of the hard preaching.
Get rid of the pulpit.
Put a little bar stool up here.
Because, you know, most Christians are at the bar anyway.
So to just make them feel a little more comfortable.
Put the bar stool up.
And by the way, going to a bar is a sin.
Going to a bar is a sin.
People say, well, I go to the bar and I grab a cup of water.
I'm pretty sure you can get a cup of water anywhere else.
Doesn't the Bible say it's a sin from the appearance of evil?
It's evil for you to walk into a bar.
It's a sin.
But here's what these churches do.
Because most churches are filled with a bunch of drunkards.
They like to be in the bars.
So the pastor sits on a bar stool to make them feel comfortable.
They turn all the lights off so you feel like you're at the casino.
Because that's where most Christians are today on a Saturday night.
You walk in and you feel like you're at the casino.
And here's what they're telling us.
They're telling us you've got to get rid of the pulpit.
You've got to get rid of the ties.
Look, everybody tells you to get rid of the tie.
Just mark in your mind they're trying to go a direction of a liberal.
They're listening to a liberal.
They're idolizing a liberal.
You say, does the Bible say you have to wear a tie?
It doesn't say you have to wear a tie.
But here's what I want you to know.
No liberals wear ties.
I'm talking about preaching.
I'm talking about these pastors.
Now, could you wear a tie and be a liberal?
Joel Osteen.
Of course you can.
All right, wearing a tie doesn't make you godly.
But look, this idea where you want to make church not feel like church,
make church not seem like church,
you want to walk in and feel like you're going into a casino,
you want to walk in and feel like you're going into a bar,
you want to walk in and you feel like you're at a rock concert.
Here's all I want you to understand.
Today we're being told this won't work.
Today we're being told you've got to make people feel like they're not at church,
and you've got to talk to them and be kind and be passionate.
And don't have a Wednesday night service.
Put them in small groups and let people tell each other what they think the Bible says.
And here's what I want you to understand.
If hard preaching worked for Isaiah,
if God told Isaiah, here's how I want you to do it,
then because of the fact,
and by the way, if hard preaching has worked for centuries,
if the man of God standing up, crying aloud, sparing not,
lifting up his voice like a trumpet,
showing people their transgressions,
showing people their sin,
if that has worked for centuries,
because of the fact that God has no respect for a person,
because of the fact that God responds the same way to the same methods,
here's what I think, hard preaching will still work.
Hard preaching will still get results.
Now listen to me very carefully, hard preaching may not get a crowd.
I didn't say it will get a crowd.
I said it will get results.
See, I have no interest in pastoring a church with 5,000 people in it
that are all a bunch of drunkards, that are all a bunch of gamblers,
that are all a bunch of fornicators.
If I wanted to do that, I wouldn't be doing this.
If I wanted to do that, look, you don't think I could get up and give a flowery sermon?
I could figure out how to do that.
I'm sure I could read a book and get all their tips.
You say, what are the results you're looking for?
The result I'm looking for is for young people that love the Lord.
The result I'm looking for is for young people that will walk down the aisle
and be pure and be virgins.
The result I'm looking for is strong marriages.
I'm not looking for a crowd. I'm looking for a group.
We want our church to be a place.
We're not perfect. We make mistakes.
We've got sin we've got to deal with,
but I'd rather have a place where people are open and love the Lord
and are trying to draw closer to God than just a big, huge fun center.
Here's what I don't understand.
If our preaching has worked in the past, it'll work today.
If our preaching has worked in the past to help people grow and get right with God,
then our preaching will work today to help people grow and help people get right.
You say, well, why? Here's why.
Because if it's worked for anyone,
if leveraging biblical principles and biblical methods have worked for anyone,
then they will work for everyone.
You say, why is that? Because God has no respect for our persons.
And He responds.
He responds in the same way to the same methods.
That encourages me.
I'm encouraged by the fact that I can look in the past,
I can look at the fundamentalists before us and say,
you know, if it worked for them, if the old hymns worked for them,
if door-to-door soul-winding worked for them,
if wives reverencing their husbands, submitting and obeying to their husbands,
and husbands loving their wives and sacrificing,
if that worked for anyone, then it'll work for everyone.
Because God has no respect for our persons.