In this sermon, Pastor Babij goes to the Book of Amos and details how both kingdoms of Israel drifted from true worship of God into mere formality and idolatry. Pastor Babij explains how the prophet Amos focused on the voice and Word of God, even interceding once for Israel. Pastor Babij then teaches from Amos that God would not relent of His final judgement against the two kingdoms but would send a famine of His Word. Pastor Babij concludes with message of hope and exhortation for believers to keep their eyes and hearts on God.
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okay this morning I really want you to take your Bibles and turn to an Old Testament minor prophet Amos using this particular book and this message today as a kind of a New Year’s message for us and I’ll be back in first Peter next week but Amos you have to try to find it if you haven’t been in the Old Testament for a while and it’s asked of course it’s after Psalms proverbs and then into the prophets so just turn to Amos in your Bibles and as you’re turning there let’s pray father I thank you again for your kindness this morning to us allowing us even to live another day and Lord the privilege to be under the hearing of the word of God I pray we’d never take that for granted and I prayed we would always be faithful to be ready to hear it but not just be ready hearers but lord allow us to be ready doers so we put it into practice so we’re not just getting a big head of knowledge Lord but we’re learning to have a relationship an intimate relationship with you and I pray Lord as we do go along in our Christian life and we grow I ask Lord that you would allow us to always be sensitive to the Spirit of God as the Spirit of God brings to our attention things in the Word of God and convicts us of sin I pray Lord that we learn to take care of that sin put it to death put on righteousness and go on to walk a life of holiness Lord this morning as we look at the Prophet and his message to the people I pray we would take heed and that we would not let what happened here happened to us so lord please teach us these things make us aware of them from the Word of God and I pray this this morning in Christ’s name Amen so Amos I’m gonna do something today I’m going to preach the whole Book of Amos this morning actually I was given an assignment by grace advanced to teach the Minor Prophets and so I’m trying this out on you this morning and because I haven’t been in the Old Testament in a long time and I’ve been in the New Testament so I do want to look back at this particular book now the most important endeavor you will ever embark upon is the pursuit of knowing God aw Tozer once wrote that a right conception of God is basic not only for or to systematic theology but to practical Christian living he further commented on the observation that error in doctrine rises from imperfect and ignoble thoughts about God it was also John Calvin he remarked on our detrimental tendency as as human beings to keep our gaze fixed on the earthly plane and not on the heavenly plane he added if we just once lifted our gaze to heaven and contemplated what kind of being God is we gain a very different perspective on ourselves and of course on life itself so what does God think when his people drift away from him and he finds them just going through the motions of worship and their heart is not engaged with him they are no longer in other words listening to God’s spokesmen and actually they prevent God’s spokesman from speaking what does God do when those kind of things happen well we kind of get a message from the Prophet Amos that is very pertinent to our day but to get there I want to give you some historical background to give you the situation in which the people live because Amos was probably a very early prophet he was a prophet that would be early in the life of Israel about 755 BC he prophesied so he’s one of the early prophets and there’s a background and why he is bringing the message of God to the people so he we have to find out who the author is who is who was he writing to and when was it written because he was so early if you look in verse number 1 of chapter 1 of Amos it says the words of Amos who was among the sheep herders from Tekoa which he envisioned in visions concerning Israel which is the north northern kingdom him being from the southern kingdom Judah it says in the days of Uzziah king of judah south which would be the south judah in the days of Jeroboam son of joash king of israel two years before the earthquake so you find right there in this particular book that it’s giving us this thing we need to know about what’s going on and who’s who’s the one speaking and white wise why is he writing who is he writing to and also the historical context of his writing now if you probably the terrible earthquake terrible earthquake was from the time of Uzziah two years it says in the passage before the earthquake where it says here you will flee by the valley of my mountains two for the valley of the mountains will reach two as ell yes you will flee just as you fled before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah the king of Judah so the very mention of course is Zechariah 14 5 the very mention of this earthquake points to the internal connection between this event and the prophet’s own prophetic mission so in other words scripture teaches that the earthquakes when the Lord comes in judgment upon the nation’s for we’re gonna find out in Amos chapter 8 verse 8 it says because of this will not the land quake and everyone who dwells in it mourn indeed all of it will rise up like the Nile and it will be tossed about and subside like the Nile of Egypt so in other words when God is speaking especially when he is speaking in judgment the earth shakes the earthquake which shook Jerusalem two years after the appearance of Amos was the judgment threatened by God against the two kingdoms of Israel the north and the south so what was the historical situation in this particular book well the historical situation actually examines the condition of the people during that particular day now what was the spiritual situation well if you look in anus Amos chapter 2 look at verse number 8 it says on garments taken as pledges they stretch out beside every altar and in the house of their God they drink the wine of those who have been fined so another passage here in chapter 5 verse 21 through 23 it says this I hate verse 21 of chapter 5 I hate I reject your festivals nor do I delight in your solemn assemblies even those you you offer up to me burnt offerings and your grain offerings I will not accept them I will not even look at the peace offerings of your fatlings verse 23 take away from me the noise of your songs I will not even listen to the sound of your harps now so from this particular these passages right here we would have to ask the question are they going to the temple in other words are they going to church of course they’re not going to church they’re going to the temp they’re meeting with the people of God are they meeting the question if we answer the question the question is yes they’re there meaning they’re offering their festivals and their solemn assemblies they are offering sacrifices and offerings and they are singing now are they offering these things to the true God Jehovah well in verse number 22 of chapter 5 it says you’re there offering it to me so now we’re getting at what the Prophet is going to speak to the people were worshiping the true God in the wrong way see their hearts were far from God they were worshipping with empty formality so that means that the spiritual things in Israel were terrible and why were they terrible because Jeroboam did that which was evil in the sight of God and the passage of Scripture from first Kings which is on the screen here it says then Jeroboam built check’em in the hill country of ephraim and lived there and he went out from there and built Pannu Jeroboam said in his heart now the kingdom will return to the house of David if this people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem then the heart of this people return to the Lord even – even – rio bom king of judah and they will kill me and return to rio bomb king of judah and then the second part of that passage of scripture it says so the king consulted and made two calves and said to them it is too much for you to go up to jerusalem behold your God’s o Israel that brought you up from the land of Egypt he set one in Bethel and the other he put in Dan now this thing became a sin for the people went to worship before the one as far as Dan and he made houses on high places and made priests from among all the peoples who were not of the sons of Levi so in other words the king of the north says listen you don’t have to go down the south to worship because if you go there you’ll you’ll turn back to the Lord so I’m gonna give you your gods of course remember those gods were pointed back to Egypt when they made a golden calf he gives them now two golden calves and he says listen you don’t have to go to Jerusalem Oh – down to Judah to worship you can worship right here because I’m gonna make all these I places and you’re going to go and worship and that’s what they did so spiritually they were in rebellion against God because they worshiped him in the wrong way with an empty heart so what was the situation politically Amos chapter 6 politically in verse number one it says this woe to those who are at ease in Zion and to those who feel secure in the mountains of Samaria the distinguished men of the foremost of nations to whom the house of Israel comes all right so from that passage of Scripture what would you say the people were week or were they strong were they politically strong or and secure or were they weak well we can see from the passage that they were living at ease and it says right there they felt secure Jeroboam and Jeroboam reigned for 41 or 42 years even though Judah and Syria and Assyria and Damascus were where the main is enemies of Israel yet they are at ease and feel secure because they are politically strong so spiritually they’re in rebellion politically they feel strong and secure in the land how about economically how are they doing economically well look at chapter 3 in verse number 15 it says I will also smite the winter house together with the summer house the houses of ivory will also perish and the great houses will come to an end declares the Lord now of course in the first three chapters the Lord is declaring his judgment upon them and then of course in verse number six I mean chapter six and verse number four through six look what it says here those who recline on beds of ivory and sprawl on their couches and eat lambs from the flock and calves from the midst of the stall who in improvise to the sound of the harp and like David have composed songs for themselves who drink wine from sacrificial bowls while they anoint themselves with the finest of oils yet they have not grieved or the ruin of Joseph would you say that from that passage of Scripture they are rich or poor they’re rich so they’re politically they’re spiritually in rebellion politically they feel secure in the land and they’re wealthy people in power are rich ivory beds plenty of rich food inventing instruments for song it’s amazing when a culture is doing well there’s a lot of music there’s a lot of that kind of thing now you I could ask this question to who does that sound like does it sound like us politically we are still super power although diminishing economically we are stronger than most countries the stock market is trading at an all-time high gold and silver are holding their own cryptocurrency is becoming more desirable to invest in socially we have more genres of music and intake entertainment than we need we are drowning in the cessful of multimedia forms of amusement and spiritually well we have to be honest nationally we’re spiritually dead as a nation the only thing that’s keeping this place afloat is the true Church that’s the only thing the Lord is keeping final judgment from coming because at times not ready yet so it is spiritually dangerous when the country in which you live is economically rich and spiritually poor it is dangerous for the church because we tend to forget God we tend to we really tend to ourselves and we neglect the things that we ought to be doing and in in Amos here one of the things they were neglecting were the needy when this happens we most likely will still sing will still pray will still go to church but the the danger of religious formalism always lurks there when a country is in that particular place he got hates when his people slip without much notice into this spiritually destructive condition we have to watch out it’s not just a min as a misen his day it’s our day – it’s every day that the church dwells that we have to watch out we don’t slip into this now if you notice in Chapter 1 of Amos there are certain things that he says over and over again he says in chapter 1 verse number 3 thus says the Lord for three transgressions of Damascus and for four I will not revoke it’s punishment because they thrashed gilad with implements of sharp iron and that that goes on in chapter six that goes on in chapter one verse 6 chapter one verse number nine and if you look at verse number nine it says this in chapter one thus says the Lord for three transgression Grint transgressions of tyre and for four I will not revoke its punishment because they delivered up an entire population to eat them and did not remember the Covenant of Brotherhood and then also in chapter 2 in verse number one again it says thus says the Lord for three transgressions of Moab and for four I will not revoke its punishment because he burned the bones of the king of Edom to Lyme and then in verse number four of chapter two thus says the Lord for three transgressions of Judah and for four I will not revoke its punishment because they rejected the law of the Lord and they have not kept his statues they their lives also have led them astray and those after which their fathers walked and then in verse 6 of chapter 2 it says thus says the Lord for three transgressions of Israel and for four I will not revoke its punishment because they sell the righteous for money and the needy for a pair of sandals and then notice over in chapter 2 in verse number nine it says yet yet it was I so now the Lord’s bringing himself in in verse number 10 of chapter two it was I who brought you out of Egypt and it says I led you in the wilderness and verse 11 then I raised up some of your sons to be prophets and some of your young men to be Naza rights is this not so o sons of Israel declares the Lord verse number 12 of chapter 2 but you made theirs Nazarites drink wine and you commanded the prophets saying you shall not prophesy verse 13 behold I am weighed down beneath you as a wagon is weighed down when filled with cheese so what’s the Lord know the Lord’s telling me I’m I’m burdened by the way you’re living I’m burdened by your sin I’ve had enough of it that so the Lord showing us right there how he actually feels when the people his people come to this particular place now before I go any further I want to introduce you to the man himself to the Prophet because I think this is important to understand who the man is Amos who is he well chapter 1 verse number 1 he lives in Toccoa Judah the words of Amos says who was among the sheep herders from Tekoa which he envisioned in visions concerning Israel in Chapter 7 in verse 14 and 15 we find out that he’s a sheep herder in other words he’s a farmer type in chapter 7 and verse 14 it says then Amos replied to a Messiah I am NOT a prophet nor am I the son of a prophet so in other words he was not a professional prophet he was not even the son of a prophet it wasn’t even his job to be a prophet he was just a layman he was a herdsmen in other words he was a free boy it says there in verse 15 he was a grower of Sycamore figs a better way to translate that would be he was a nipper of Sycamore fruit that could mean that he was connected with a poor class of people he was poor and it says in verse 15 but the Lord took me from following the flock and the Lord said to me go prophesy for the people of Israel so in other words this southern boy from Judah is told by God to go prophesied to the northern tribes of Israel in fact a grower of Sycamore figs also can be translated a bruiser of sycamore fruit what that means that the sycamore fruit being like a fig though not quite as sweet in flavor it was believed in the East that it would never ripen except with a little bruise so some people were actually employed and hired with an iron comb to scratch or to wing the skin of the sycamore fruit unwanted skin would mean that it would never ripen and even when ripe it was it would be bitter to be too bitter to be eaten and after it had been wounded or scratched it ripened rapidly and became sweet so this particular thing that he actually was involved with as employment as his life we see later in this book that God gives Amos a vision that harmonizes with that occupation and we’ll look at that the last part so he was a nurse a northern boy it tells us in Chapter 7 that Amos was it says Amos was conspired against because it says Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel in other words he was speaking against the king and it said the land was unsuitable to endure his words then a Masai Amaziah said to Amos in Scripture go away from us he calls him a seer a seer is another word for prophet he says flee to your land of Judah and there go eat bread and there go prophesying in other words he’s saying just you don’t belong around here you don’t belong here go back to where you came from we don’t want to hear what you have to say so that was the response of Israel to God’s prophet because God’s prophet has something to say to Israel we didn’t get to that quite yet but it does bring us to the theme of Amos and what is the theme of Amos we see from the the few passages are already read that the theme of Amos is God’s going to chase in his people he’s going to spanked them in other words for them worshiping him in the wrong way with no hearts that’s what he’s going to do and so in Amos chapter 1 in verse number 2 notice how he describes the Lord it says he said the Lord roars from Zion and from Jerusalem he utters his voice and the Shepherd’s pasture grounds mourn and the summit of Carmel dries up in other words how does he pictured the Lord he pictures the Lord as a roaring lion and when a lion roars do people pay attention you better believe they do all right if you’re close earshot to a line and you hear roaring you better make a plan right because something’s going to happen right you don’t want to be lunch so it’s describing the Lord as the lion and what is the line doing the lying is roaring and so that means the Lord is ready to actually pounce on his people so the theme of Amos actually starts with God the first thing that happens when people are at ease when people are more paying our paying attention border to themselves into their spiritual life and their walk with their Lord the first thing that happens is they start to forget who God is and they move away from that they forget that God is the one who is the creator look at chapter 4 of Amos in verse number 13 Amos begins to remind them again who God is it says for behold he is saying to them look you have not been looking he says behold he who forms mountains and creates the wind and declares to man what are his thoughts he who makes dawn into darkness and spreads on the high places of the earth or treads on the high places of the earth the Lord God of hosts is his name he knows how he’s stressing that in the scripture he is saying to them listen behold your God that when you get your eyes off the Lord you need to get them back on the Lord because the more you don’t look at the Lord and who he is the more you drift away from him and you become unlike him and you just backed into worldliness and ungodliness and and all the darkness that the world has to offer so when you get your eyes off the Lord you need to get back on the Lord and then notice in chapter 5 of Amos and verse 8 and 9 again he is telling them listen it’s the Lord who created the great heavens and verse 8 of chapter 5 it says he who made the Pleiades in Orion and changes deep darkness into mourning who also dark day in tonight who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out on the surface of the earth the Lord is his name verse number nine it is he it is he who flashes forth with destruction upon the strong so that the just that destruction comes upon the fortress so in the passage he is actually stressing there that it is the Lord who created not only the heaven the earth but the the the universe he’s the one who created all the stars he mentions Pleiades and Orion by name it’s probably one of the best star clusters out there in the sky it’s one of the most beautiful objects in the sky if you ever did any stargazing with the telescope and even with the naked eye you can see it’s got it’s got about six or seven stars shrouded in blue gas and dusts and the clusters shape reminds star gator’s gaze there’s really of a miniature Dipper the clusters shape as a little dipper can be seen now of course if you’re in New Jersey you maybe see two or three of the stars not the whole thing you have to go into the dark parts of the state or another state and to see them but he is just saying to the people you forgot that the God that you covenant with is a great God he is an awesome God he’s the God who’s not uncreated these things but he’s created these incredible objects that guide your night and your the passage of time and so you forgot who he is I had a scientist in my church in the church figure out the distance this star cluster is from the earth and if you were to travel there how long would it take us of course that would be a question only a scientist like an astrophysicist can answer of course if he’s a believer and unbeliever you’d get a different answer or becomes confusing so is if his calculations were correct he said one light-year is the distance of light that light travels in the vacuum in one year and light travels at 186,000 282 miles per second and then he says an astronomical unit is a measure of the Earth’s average distance from the Suns the Sun approximately 93 million miles and so he did the math and said to me traveling at 30,000 light years the distance from the centre of our solar system to the center of our galaxy flying at 3000 miles an hour would take six point seven billion years of course then you said Pleiades and Araya is 450 light years from the earth now I I don’t know if those calculations are correct I could never check them however the point is the universe is very very very big and God that means God is very very creative and he’s very powerful to be able to create such a universe and then sustain the universe see when you drift away from God you don’t think of those things anymore and I say all that to stress the importance not only for the people of Israel but for all God’s people of all times so what is the important point attached to the theme of Amos it’s this you my people have lost sight of how great and powerful and awesome and personal I am you’ve lost sight of that you’ve drifted away from that and that’s why he says in the passage for behold it’s I who forms the mountains and creates the wind I’m the one who made Pleiades in Orion I’m the one who made all this great universe behold your God again your eyes back on me and if or better when you get your eyes off the Lord you need to get them back on him as soon as possible because when you get your eyes off the Lord you drift further and further into the darkness of worldliness and the sinfulness of your own heart so what’s God’s plan in Amos to bring the condition of the people before their attention well God of course is the lion he tells them what he sees he says to them you forgot that I am NOT like the dumb idols that the King set up for you that you go worship and worship in the wrong worship me in the wrong way I’m a God who sees I’m a God who responds I’m a God who knows the intentions of your heart I’m a God who does not overlook evil yes I’m long-suffering with it but I do not overlook it there’s a point in time where God’s judgment is full and he must act because of his holiness and his righteousness he must act so what does he do here’s the plan the plan is that God’s going to give Amos three visions one vision is a locust plague another vision is a drought in a fire and a third vision is a plumb line now before I look at that I want you to go back to chapter 3 in verse number seven and eight chapter three verse number seven and eight because God reveals his plan for Israel and Judah – Amos it says in chapter three of Amos verse seven surely the Lord God does nothing unless he reveals his secret counsel to his servants the prophets verse aid a lion has roared that’s God who will not fear the Lord God has spoken who can but prophesy and then move up to verse number two of Amos chapter three it says you only have I chosen among the families of the earth therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities see the Lord’s being pretty clear there and notice he says he fears the endearment you are my people I’ve chosen only you I didn’t chose choose all the other nations I chose you I put my love upon you so you see the heart of the Lord coming out of that passage and then move over to chapter five of Amos in verse 10 through 13 it says this in verse 10 of chapter 5 they hate him who reproves in the gate they abhor him who speaks with integrity therefore because you impose heavy rent on the poor and exact the tribute of grain from them though you have built houses of well hewn stone yet you will not live in them you have planted pleasant vineyards yet you will not drink their wine verse 12 for I know your transgressions are many and your sins are great in verse number 12 of chapter 5 and then he says this you who distress the righteous and accept bribes and turn aside the poor in the gate north therefore at such a time the prudent person keeps silent for it is an evil time and then down to verse 27 of chapter 5 it says therefore I will make you go into exile beyond Damascus says the Lord whose name is the God of hosts in other words he’s going to send discipline them with the nation of course the Assyrian destruction nation of Assyria is going to come against them we’re going to see that later on in in the prophets but at that point when God tells them listen your sin is has been filled up to the top it’s time for me to act but he doesn’t in a very unusual way he gives a mestizos visions and these visions really do point out something in particular but then I want you to notice what Amos does and then how God responds to Amos the Prophet look now look turned in a chapter 7 and verse number 1 and this is the vision the first vision of the locust plague now we know locusts are very destructive if they have very good agriculture because they’re a wealthy nation they’re eating well so that means they have good crops and stuff so the Lord kind of says I’m going to send to you a locust plague and he is showing them something that could happen insects devouring their land look at verse number 2 of Amos chapter 7 it says thus the Lord showed me and behold he was forming a locust swarm when the spring crop began to sprout and behold the spring crop was after the Kings mowing all right now so that’s the setup verse number 1 verse number 2 that was verse number 1 verse number 2 what is Amos do he prays he asked the Lord Lord please don’t do that and so Lewis says in verse number 2 of Amos chapter 7 and it came about when it had finished eating the vegetation of the land that I said Lord God please pardon how can Jacob stand for he is small alright so what does he do he intercedes right and how does God respond to that intercession of the Prophet verse number 3 and the Lord changed his mind about this I shall not said the Lord so Amos remember is not from Israel he is from Judea actually Israel is the enemies of Judah and God changes his mind because the prof saw him in prayer alright so that’s the first vision the second vision is the name is chapter seven verse number four and this is the vision of the drought in the fire it says thus the Lord God showed me and behold the Lord God was calling to contend with them by fire and it consumed the great deep and began to consume the farmland again in verse number five what does Amos do he intercedes in verse number 5 of chapter 7 he says he said Lord God please stop how can jacob stan for he’s small and how is God responds to him verse number six of Amos 7 the Lord changed his mind about this this too shall not be said the Lord God but then there’s a third vision and this is the vision of the plumb line and you know what a plumb line is right plumb line is something you drop to met to see if a wall is straight the line is straight and if you put it next to the wall and the wall will tell you it’s straight or it will tell you it’s crooked right so the Lord is now saying – Amos listen look at verse number seven of chapter seven it says this thus he showed me and behold the Lord was standing by a vertical wall with a plumb line in his hand verse number eight Amos does not intercede this time there’s no prayer offered Amos can’t pray and the reason why is because Israel was clearly sinfully crooked look what it says in verse number eight it says the Lord said to me what do you see Amos and I said a plumb line then the Lord said behold I am about to put a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel that’s what the Lord says to them and then in verse number seven verse number eight he continues on he says I will spare them no longer so what is he getting at well in Chapter eight in verse number one and two he’s getting at what I mentioned before that Amos was a nipper or a scratcher of the Sycamore to make them ripe well it was almost a picture of God holding chastisement on the people so they would recognize their sin so they could see their deeds and the judgment of God that would come upon them and of if we’re looking at chastisement that God would lead them to repent and come back to him so look what it says in Chapter eight in verse number one and two it says this thus the Lord God showed me behold there was a basket of summer fruit and he says what do you see Amos and I said a basket of summer fruit then the Lord said to me the end has come for my people Israel I will spare them no longer so you can see that judgment is filled up Amos can’t even pray for the nation now the only thing the only thing that could take place is God’s judgment and chastisement upon his people because of their incorrect workshop because of the the rebellion of their heart because they have seeped and and moved far from him and have forgotten their God and so he has to get their attention he has no other choice than to get their attention so what does he actually do once he measures Israel and he finds out this basket of summer fruit what does that picture of it’s a picture of saying that my people are rotten to the core you know summer fruit summer fruit is the last you leave bananas laying around in your basket for too long whether they start getting brown and mushy right nobody wants to eat that you have to make banana cake after or whatever you do with that or you or you mash it up or do something with it but it’s no longer a desirable fruit like a nice firm see the people of God have gotten rotten to the core what will God do to distant planets people after he measures them and finds them crooked this is probably the most devastating thing that could ever happen to any people and God says okay if this is what you want this is what I’m giving you and what does he do notice in verse 11 and 12 of chapter 8 the Lord sends them a famine the famine of course is inevitable it’s a famine of the worst kind and it says this it says behold in verse number 11 of chapter 8 behold days are coming declares the Lord God when I will send a famine on the land not a famine for bread or a thirst for water but rather for hearing the words of the Lord verse 12 people will stagger from sea to sea from the north even to the east they will go to and fro to seek the the word of the Lord but they will not find it isn’t that devastating so that’s the Lord that’s what the Lord does he gives us people a famine of the word of God can’t find it anywhere why when I sent my preachers to you my prophets to you what did you do you shut them up you sent them out and of course ultimately they killed them and he says if that’s what you want that’s what you’re gonna get I’m gonna there’s gonna be a famine it’s gonna be a spiritual famine that family is gonna be a famine of the word of God but so when the people of God are not faithful if the people of God or the people who claim to know God don’t want the Word of God the Lord says okay I won’t give it to you I won’t send it to you anymore not realizing that that’s our life stream that’s how we know who God is that’s how we know how to be right with him that’s how we know about the message of Jesus Christ that’s how we know what we’re supposed to be while we live here in aliens in this foreign land that’s what the Word of God tells us where we’re going and how we can be right with God all those things found in the Word of God if the Word of God is not there if it’s not being proclaim how would people know how can people be saved how can people be rescued they can’t be so the most devastating things that could ever happen to a group of people is when God no longer speaks no longer speaks do you know the last word of the prophets is Malachi God did not speak through a prophet for 400 years until John the Baptist and the spiritual condition of Israel when John the Baptist stepped on the scene was horrific they were they were just in the same position that these people were they’ve moved so far away from the Word of God they put so many things around the Word of God people never got to the Word of God and so what they believed was wrong what they understood about God’s plan was wrong and so the Lord had to correct that and John the Baptist was the man that came on and laid bare laid straight the road so the message of the gospel can come again to the people and so this particular destruction and judgment of God on the people of God was the worst that could happen what is so amazing about the prophets though you would think all right wow this happened to the people and you would think that’s it it’s over and this is the amazing part about the prophets because what does God do does he leave just the message of judgment for the people they’re going to be taken into a Syrian exile right they’re gonna there’s going to be a Babylonian captivity after that right and then other things are going to happen to the people of God so what does God do once tells them he’s going to send a famine in the land and he’s going to prevent the Word of God from going you won’t be able to find out what is he do he gives them the last chapter of Amos is a message of hope it’s not a message of judgment that’s what’s so amazing about the prophets in other words I’m gonna give you something you don’t deserve again I’m gonna give you hope that there’s gonna be a rescue over here now to show you that let’s look at chapter 9 verse 11 through 15 and then I’m gonna close Amos 9 11 through 15 and this is a basic pattern of all the prophets that God who sends judgment yet he gives a message of hope notice what it says in Amos chapter 9 verse 11 through 15 he says in that day I will raise up the falling booth of David and wall up its breaches I will also raise up the ruins and rebuilt it in the days of old verse 12 of chapter 9 that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations who are called by my name declares the Lord who does this behold days are coming declares the Lord when the plow and plow men will overtake the Reaper and the Treader of grapes will who sews grapes him who sow seeds when the mountains will drip sweet wine and all the hills will be dissolved also I will restore the captivity of my people Israel and they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them they will also plant vineyards and drink their wine and make gardens and eat their fruit and I will also plant them on their land and they will not again be uprooted out of their land which I gave them says the Lord your God isn’t that a message of hope a message of judgment and at the end God gives a mess that you are god is he wants to encourage his people – he wants to bring them back to himself and what does God do he sends a promise he says I’m this is my promise I’m gonna reinstate the Davidic line I’m gonna I’m going to renew the land and I’m gonna restore my people that’s what I’m gonna do and that’s what he is going to do God’s plan for Israel is still in place today someday Israel will come alive and be regenerated in their land in Israel someday that’s going to take place but right now the preaching of the gospel goes out so all the Gentiles can be saved right and there there are Jews getting saved individually but nationally as a as a nation a country they are not being saved they are kind of they’re partially blinded and they’re very stubborn when it comes to the truth of the gospel but one day that will change it will change God promises that so just in thinking through a bit of the message of the Prophet you see how applicable this ancient message is for us today this can easily happen to any one of us that we can slip away from God and if you ever experienced a cold time in your Christian walk it’s not pleasant it’s not it’s not one that you want to stay in you want to you want to be on fire for the Lord Rennell the Lord wants us to be on fire for him he doesn’t want to lukewarmness he wants us from our heart to worship Him to praise Him genuinely to love his word to love his truth to to flesh out the things that we’re learning in our life so we can use our gifts and we can walk in holiness so we can bring glory to his name and we can bring the gospel to those who haven’t heard it yet see that’s what we ought to be doing so if we flesh out a little bit of the things that are happening from Amos we would have to say a couple things number one you don’t have to be professionally trained to speak for God Amos wasn’t also if your heart is far from God and you are living in disobedience then your words and your actions really don’t mean anything holiness and obedience go together and they give incredible power to your life and your words also complacency happens almost without notice we have to check and renew our heart daily and when we come to the Lord’s table part of the Lord’s table is to make sure we examine ourselves spiritually relationally with God and with others so we can come and partake of that peace meal in a way that we are truly worshiping God and God is meeting with us as the God who makes peace with us through the blood of the Cross and then also judgment is certain to those who ignore God judgment will come to those who reject and ignore God and then finally when you lose sight of how great and awesome God is how personally is to us.if or better when you get your eyes off the Lord you need to get them back on him ASAP see that’s the message for the new year there’s many things that can distract us from our spiritual walk with the Lord Jesus Christ don’t let those things distract you keep your eyes on the Lord and your heart warmed to the awesomeness and the greatness of who God is and how much he loves his people and how much he gives his people and then desire each day to walk in holiness so you can worship Him in spirit and in truth and that’s what pleases God that’s what gives him glory and that’s what makes us a body of people that can be effective in our day to make sure the Word of God is still being heard and is still going out to those who haven’t heard it yet and they don’t think they need it but they do need it they need the gospel of Christ and who does that the church does that right so let’s take this message the heart and put it into practice in our life and be honest with ourselves about where we’re really at spiritually and if you have never come to know Christ as your Lord and Savior never repented of your sin and asked them to save you then today has to be the day this is a new year let’s start off the new year and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ follow him be baptized and be part of God’s church and learn more what God wants for you and has for you in the Word of God and believe me I know that you will find the blessings of God in tremendous ways as you learn God’s Word and the Word of God transforms your mind to give you a worldview that is truly Christian that’s pray Lord thank you again Lord your word is awesome and we didn’t even touch the whole message of this prophet and yet Lord how practical and more up-to-date your word is then even tomorrow’s newspaper because it tells us who we really are it tells us what our really real problems are it tells us what we really need so I just ask you Lord that you would impress upon our heart these truths and I pray as you do so Lord you would allow us to have the plumb line of the Word of God measure how we’re doing and if you find anything in our life that is crooked and that should not be there make it plain to us that we may repent of it put it to death as sin before you so we can get up put on the garments of righteousness and the clean garments of truth and then walk with you Lord in the integrity of our heart I pray you would do that amongst your people today in Christ’s name Amen