Sunday, August 26, 2018

Five Lessons from Amos – Part 1



Amos 5:6-9 “ Seek the Lord and live, lest He break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour it, with no one to quench it in Bethel—You who turn justice to wormwood, and lay righteousness to rest in the earth!” He made the Pleiades and Orion; He turns the shadow of death into morning and makes the day dark as night; He calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out on the face of the earth; the Lord is His name. He rains ruin upon the strong, so that fury comes upon the fortress.”

At our church, the pastors have been preaching through a Sunday sermons series through the books of the Minor Prophets. The other week, Pastor Kyle gave a message on five lessons which we learn from the prophet Amos. He stated how much he loves to be at a high vantage point which allows people to get a panoramic prospective of their surroundings. In the book of Amos, we see God’s plumb line view of how people do not measure up true to the perfect Word, Will and Way, and teachings to be understood and applied in our daily lives in this foretelling of destruction and restoration. Almighty and sovereign Creator God, sometimes, must judge and tear down our present in order to rebuild to secure our future. The complacent fallen nature of mankind can become proud, thinking that nothing bad would ever happen and believing that they never need to change their way. But, what we need is a heart for our heavenly Father God, a willingness to go wherever he tells to go and eager to say or do whatever He tells us.

Isaiah 1:18-20 “Come now, and let us reason together,” says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword”; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

The first lesson is that God loves to use the ordinary to accomplish the extraordinary. Ordinary obedience to God in our life will lead to an extraordinary impact for the kingdom of God in the long run. The second lesson is that God deals with His family’s problems first. Sometimes, we believe that being in the family of God means that we are exempt from the consequences of our own foolish or poor decisions, but God will bring our problems into our mind to work on and work out. Believers are forgiven and receive the Holy Spirit to illuminate the Holy Scriptures for understanding and application in our lives or change personally in love and care.

Amos 5:12-15 “For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: Afflicting the just and taking bribes; diverting the poor from justice at the gate. Therefore the prudent keep silent at that time, for it is an evil time. Seek good and not evil, that you may live; so the Lord
God of hosts will be with you, as you have spoken. Hate evil, love good; establish justice in the gate. It may be that the Lord God of hosts will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.”


Let's continue Pastor Kyle's message on the 5 lesson from Amos in the next post.
In Christ, Brian

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