I was watching the recording on the other side of a computer screen, twenty years later, when I heard those ten words. I couldn’t believe what I had just heard come out of the preacher’s mouth. Although I wasn’t there, I felt everything in that room change. The entire atmosphere had shifted. You could feel the tension!
In 2002, a man stepped up to the pulpit to preach to an audience of over five thousand at a youth conference. He opened his message with great boldness and delivered a stinging rebuke to the lukewarm version of American Christianity being walked out today. Immediately, the entire room gave their hearty approval of the preacher’s words by breaking out in a loud applause. But then, as the applause finally began to subside, something extraordinary happened. The preacher looked down for a moment in silence, he took a step forward, and with his finger pointing to the audience, delivered the most powerful ten words those five thousand youth had ever heard: “I don’t know why you’re clapping. I’m talking about you!”
As if a bucket of cold water had been thrown upon them, they had been immediately awoken from a sleep they didn’t even know they were in. But not just in that room. As I sat there alone on my couch, twenty years in the future, those ten words changed the atmosphere in my own living room. That cold water had been thrown upon me as well. My own heart was being awakened from the terrifying slumber it had also been in.
There was no more applause for the rest of that 57-minute sermon. Only complete silence, as Paul Washer delivered one of the most powerful sermons that has ever been preached in our generation. It is now widely known throughout evangelical Christianity as “The Shocking Message”. It has amassed millions of views on YouTube and has had a profound impact in not only my own life, but in millions around the world who have heard it. I would argue though, that if it had not been for those ten words he was willing to speak, this sermon, like most in America today, would have fallen on deaf ears. They would have been listening – amen-ing – and applauding his words – while never actually hearing them! Those ten bold words infused that sermon with power. Those five thousand youth were now looking in the mirror! (James 1:22-25)
I have noticed a very peculiar sort of preacher in many churches today. He’s a preacher who went to the right schools. He’s read all the right books. He is, for the most part, doctrinally sound. His theology is solid. His church is growing! Every Sunday morning, he steps up to the pulpit and says all the right things! He talks about the broken and lukewarm state of the church. He may even be so bold as to use that word repentance. He undoubtedly speaks of reformation and revival. Yet somehow, in the midst of all of the words coming out of his mouth, he somehow manages to say nothing at all. His sermons bring about applause and amens each week, but his words are impotent. They lack any power to bring about the very repentance and revival he speaks of.
Why is this? Why are his words powerless? Because the people in the pews, just like those deceived youth, don’t actually believe they are speaking to them. They are speaking of someone else – some other Christian. This preaching- if it can be called that – is quite possibly some of the most dangerous there is. It affirms what we know to be true within us, while never turning the mirror fully toward us. This weak preaching is only another form of the “tickling the ears” that the Apostle Paul warned young Timothy about. (2Timothy 4:3) It comes from men who lack courage. They are not willing to be direct with their sheep. They sacrifice boldness to fill more seats, and then justify it to themselves in the name of “gentleness”.
The result of this has been catastrophic! Every Sunday morning, in churches all across America, we hear amens and applause break out. Preachers finish sermons with standing ovations from those in the pews: Meanwhile, a lukewarm church is getting ready to be spit out of His mouth. Countless numbers of professing Christians – totally deceived – clapping their way into eternal damnation, because their shepherd doesn’t have the guts to speak to them like a man! Those listening to this sort of preaching become like one of those foolish and proud NFL players, whose team is down by forty points, and yet he does an endzone dance after finally scoring a touchdown. How blind could that player be? Does he not see the scoreboard?
My friend, now is not the time for applause. Now is a time for silence and reflection. Now is a time for self-examination. Are we looking at the scoreboard? The church in America is losing! This version of Christianity is broke! It does not line up with the Word. It does not line up with the version that has been practiced in past generations. It is a slap in the face to the countless numbers of martyrs that have shed their blood over the last two thousand years. It is a slap in the face to our Savior Himself. It makes Him nauseous. (Revelation 3:16) We must look in the mirror before it is too late.
Approximately three years ago God handed me a mirror and forced me to look into it. It was a dark and difficult season of self-examination. As I wrestled with what His word really said, I did not like the reflection I saw. As a brother in Christ, who has had to repent himself, may I ask you some questions: Is it, at all possible, that the version of Christianity that you have bought into is not the real one? Is there a part of you, even a tiny one, that knows this version of Christianity in America doesn’t seem quite right? Is it, at all possible, that you could be deceived as to what it means to be a Christian? Is there even a hint of you that wonders… Am I truly saved?
If you have answered yes to any of those questions, I would like to invite you – no, beg you – to listen to the Shocking Message by Paul Washer. It is quite possibly the most powerful sermon I have ever heard preached in my life. It is not just for youth. It is for every man and woman in America professing the name of Christ in 2023. It is a mirror! Please, I beg you, take this mirror and look into it. Go watch this sermon as soon as possible. Share it with those you love!
WATCH THE SHOCKING MESSAGE HERE
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