Bible In A Year - Amos

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Lord, we are just grateful of that and we're thankful and we praise you this morning
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And we just want to lift up our hearts and our souls to you and ask that if you would be pleased once again as Your people have gathered together in this place that you'd put a hedge about us
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Lord God that you would just keep us that you would make this morning this day a profitable day the
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Lord's Day a day where we can set it aside and we can Just look to you
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We can be taught of our God we can be as the psalmist pictured with the illustration of little birds in a in a nest
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We could open wide our mouths and that you would fill them Lord that you would feed our souls this morning we'd ask that you remember us in your mercies to forgive us of our sins
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Lord to just to look down with your favor and continued grace and mercy upon us and Lord we'll just praise you for the for the well -being that we have not only physically but praise you for the well -being of our souls and we can rightly say and agree with the
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Hymnist who said it is well with my soul Lord, we look to you and ask you now that you'd please teach us as we look into the
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Word of God May the Holy Spirit come and give us an understanding So that we may increase in the knowledge of our
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God increase in the way in which we should walk All for the glory of Christ and we ask it in his precious name.
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Amen All right. Can you hear me? Okay. Is it coming over now? I hear it a little bit.
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All right If you would first take your Bibles and open them up to the book of 1st
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Corinthians chapter 10 I just want to share an introductory verse with you there and then we'll actually get into the
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To the book that we're going to look at this morning, which is the book of Amos One of the minor prophets written about 750
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BC But first we're going to look in 1st Corinthians chapter 10 And Paul as he's writing to this church, and he speaks
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Concerning what God had done in the past with Israel He said he says there at 1st
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Corinthians chapter 10 about verse 4 he's speaking them He says they did drink the same spiritual drink for they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them and that rock was
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Christ But with many of them God was not well pleased for they were overthrown in the wilderness and he's he's recounting the history the
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Hebrew history of the people of God and Because of their disobedience because of their rebellion because of their moaning and groaning and complaining many of them
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Perished and of course, we know that in the wilderness wanderings for the for the 40 years that that generation who would not believe
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Believe God basically they would not go into the land That generation other than Joshua and Caleb died
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And were overthrown in the wilderness and then we come to this phrase here in verse 6 now these things were our examples to the intent we should not lust after evil things as They also lusted neither be idolaters as were some of them
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As it is written the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play and he goes on and gives instruction
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What what the exhortation not to be pleasure seekers, but to seek to seek God it's interesting though to see that in in verse 6
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These things these this account these accounts from the Old Testament that Paul was going back to He said this was written
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For present -day application And we have a lot of folks that when they look back on the
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Old Testament They kind of just discredit it and just say it's just history it's just there and we just just kind of go back to it like you would like a history book and but it's not
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Pertinent to the day in which we live And we know that Paul wrote in Timothy and he said that all scripture is
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Given by inspiration of God and it's it's profitable for doctrine reproof correction instruction and righteousness
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That the man of God may be Throughly furnished unto all good works equipped unto all good works all scripture
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The Old Testament and the new all of it important and in in here as he's looking back upon the
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Old Testament It's written for our Example it's the word in the in the in the
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Greek here is a work that means a die or a stamp and what the idea is It's a model for our imitation or for our warning we look at that and we look at the what the folks did back then and And we can learn from it
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So as we look into the Old Testament and as we read it and as we as we study
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The particular history the time. Yes, it is historical and there are facts there what took place but brethren also it's for us today to take and to look at that scripture and to learn from it in such a way where How can we be warned also?
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How can we be encouraged to go in the way that we ought to go? What is it? What is it about what
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God was doing back then? That might be similar to what's happening today in the world in which we live because really man's problem is still a sin problem and man still has a wayward heart and man still is is
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Rebellious and yet God saves and God delivers and God changes hearts and and people people like then
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Have the same similar circumstances that they go through like we go through today And it's good for us not just the kind of distance ourselves from the
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Old Testament in such a way that it's like well That's then and this is now God's truth is
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God's truth and it will help us as Paul wrote to for it for doctrine for correction
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Instruction in righteousness and for reproof. It'll help us for it for today So as we as we go into looking at the book of of Amos and I'd ask you to turn there now
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It would be good for us just to consider and to contemplate and to think on the warnings that they received
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How can how can those warnings come to us and the instruction that they received? How can that instruction?
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Come to us. Also the the the things that were important to God back then have not changed
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And and how is it that we ought to posture ourselves when it comes to the motivation behind our living?
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I mean we we we read like in many of the of the prophets and in this one in particular that There's a portion in this in this book in chapter 4 where God is basically saying you bring your sacrifices
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You bring your offerings But He was not pleased with them because their heart was not in it in there and they they did not they weren't coming
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With a pure heart They weren't coming with with open and living in obedience and therefore the worship that they were offering unto
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God was unacceptable and That doesn't change today.
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I mean it is possible For someone to come into the church doors and to sit and to sing and to listen and to participate and to even mouth the words of the songs and yet yet can be like our
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Lord Jesus Said, you know with your mouth you do worship me, but your heart is far from me And they had that Amos deals with that in this book
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Saying that if you have religion Which is divorced from Proper ethical conduct or behavior if you're if your life is sinful and you're rebellious
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You can bring all the offerings and the sacrifices that you want But God will not accept them what
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God accepts as we looked last week and in Joel was you remember that broken and contrite?
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Heart that spirit that is humbled before the Lord. That's what God accepts
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That's what God is pleased with someone who is not bringing Their credentials to the
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Lord and say God here. I am look at all that I have done Why don't you just use me?
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I mean, I know that you need me Far far from it. God is God is
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God and really in the scripture that I'll read this morning out of Acts chapter 7 17
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There's a portion in Acts 17 where it says God does not dwell in in temples made with human hands as though he needs anything.
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I Mean if God was hungry the psalmist said he wouldn't ask us for it we sometimes think that That we are in a position or we know something or we're qualified or We just have this great resume,
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I mean, can you imagine can you imagine Moses? when God comes to him and Moses says yes
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You're looking you're looking for someone to take your people out of Israel to do that to be the leader to do that Well, here's my resume.
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I was I was in I was in Pharaoh's court basically trained for 40 years and Actually, I actually knew the people there knew the language learned it all and I've got something to offer you
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God And then he and then of course God took him out into the wilderness and then he he learned other other things there
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But you notice that when God comes to Moses Moses doesn't offer anything to God Moses is basically undone
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He says I'm just I'm like a baby. I can't even speak I why would you even use me and you see that over and over and over again when it comes to God?
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Choosing people it's God who is choosing the broken vessel. It is God who is choosing the weak one
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It is God who who takes those that are nothing to confound those who think they are something the end of 1st
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Corinthians chapter 1 God's tool chest is full of broken vessels and nobodies and nothings and The same thing happens in this book of Amos Where we find
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God choosing and in and picking and it's so great that this is so true From everywhere and anywhere
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God will choose those to serve him and here in the Bible we meet in this book of Amos Whose name means burden bearer?
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We find that God takes this man who has no religious training
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No formal training Because God is not interested in our training
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I Mean if he was when Jesus was born maybe Maybe he would have been born like close to what would have been during that day
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Wall Street And it would have been from the business realm or or maybe it would have been like from Harvard or Yale I mean
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God would have put you know Jesus around the the academia's of his time Maybe it would have been around the
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Kings those were who were in authority But but God's Son comes
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Humbly born in a manger and who does God choose to tell the world at the beginning?
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He doesn't go to the professors He doesn't go to the rulers, and he doesn't go to those who are in the business realm and of high prominence
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He goes to those whose testimony would not even be acceptable in a court of law He goes to the shepherds the lowly shepherds and tells them
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The angels come and visit you know in in Luke chapter 2 and you see this great display of the heavens open and The shepherds are given this message from God that the
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Savior is born in Bethlehem in the city of David a Savior Who is Christ the Lord and they go off to see him in this book here?
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God chooses another shepherd isn't it just amazing how many times over and over again God takes and uses this illustration and that Of the shepherd and the sheep in the scriptures but also of the ones that God will choose
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God chooses a David God chooses of Moses and here God chooses and chooses Amos who is a shepherd a sheep breeder a herdsman, and he's also a tender or a dresser of sycamore fruit and God is going to take this man and Enable him to be able to minister his word to his people before the exile
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To let them know to warn them of their sin once again as many of the other prophets had done is that we already had studied and among the unusual people
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That God has called is this lowly shepherd whose name is Amos as I said before Amos is written approximately 750 years of BC He was a contemporary of Jonah Hosea and Isaiah actually he he served during the the rains he prophesied during the rains of Jeroboam the second which was in Israel in the north and Uzziah King Uzziah in Judah in the south and you remember in Isaiah chapter 6
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Isaiah says in the I mean yeah Isaiah writes in the year that King Uzziah died
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I saw he when he had that vision of the Lord being high and holy and lifted up in the temple So we know that they are contemporaries at the same time prophesying
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He's the only Prophet where his occupation is revealed before his
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Divine Commission as I already said a shepherd in a tender of sycamore fruit and In chapter 7 and 14 you don't have to turn there
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But Amos said I was no prophet nor was I the son of a prophet But I was a sheep breeder in a tender of sycamore fruit.
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That's where that's where it comes from and he says basically That that's not where he came from.
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He wasn't discipled by a prophet He didn't have any formal training, but God chose him now
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That's if you just back up from that just a moment and you just think about that as I kind of introduced this
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Think about people in the scriptures that God chose Who did not have any formal training and you would think why would
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God ever choose that person? Can you think of anybody else that God used in the scriptures? That it just seemed like they were just an unlikely candidate for the day in which they live any others
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David yeah, I mean here here. He is just a shepherd boy He's off watching the father sheep
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Doesn't he's the the youngest he's not even present when the when the prophet comes to choose the next king
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I mean, he's not even there. He's out taking care of the sheep and yet God Has Samuel anoint him and he will be?
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The the king that God chooses for the nation. Yes. Anybody else? Yes.
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Is it Lenny Len? Yes, yes in Acts chapter 4.
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They have no formal training They're they're they're they're nobodies. They're the little folks on the totem pole so to speak and of course
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We got it, you know, we're educated and We we know it all and we're the ones that can tell you
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What what spiritual life is all about and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and really Everything that they had needed to be thrown out because they had nothing if you remember that verse that that brother brought up there
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It says that they took note of them Though they were they they appeared to them to be ignorant and unlearned men
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Yet they took note of them that they had been with Jesus They had a testimony that there was something unique about them.
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And you know, they couldn't they they just couldn't deal with it They just did not know what to do with the Apostles the more I mean, it's it's kind of like I was just trying to think of an illustration.
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It's always difficult when you when you do it on the fly So if you keep talking, maybe something will come come to mind but it's almost like if you ever if you have ever had something like where you
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You have a hose or something and you try to plug up a hole in in the hose here Another one comes out over here and another leak is here
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Then you plug up that one and another one Every time that they would beat them and they would put them try to put them aside throw them into prison
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God would either let them out of the prison God was for them who could be against them and even
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Gamaliel the the teacher Among them. He he said he said let's put them aside and let me just talk to you a minute and in Acts chapter 5
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He said he says listen to me. He said If this work that these guys are doing here
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These the Apostles if it's if it's of men it will come to nothing It'll just fizzle out and they gave accounts like it happened a couple other times
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But if what they're doing is of God, you cannot overthrow it because if you do you'll be fighting against God and that's exactly what they were doing and God had a
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God had a Plan and a purpose in mind that the gospel would burst forth and he would use these
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Twelve unlikely candidates to do so and And you see that those men's hearts were burning with the truth of what
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God had revealed to them and how God had saved them And how God had allowed them to walk with Jesus Christ and to be mentored and taught by him and they saw him
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Dead they saw him buried and raised from the dead and you see the preaching in the in the book of Acts That it's that it's it's not like Here is
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Here is something. I'd like to offer to you when they started preaching when Peter preaching at Pentecost or you see
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James Speaking at the council in Jerusalem or any of the others as they're as they're preaching
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It wasn't it wasn't like well here take it or leave it. You know just here's a here's a great message
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It was it was with an authority that they came when they preached and they said listen to us
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Listen to what we have to say because this isn't something that we dreamed up this is a message from God and it says in Acts chapter 4 as they were trying to keep beating the guys down and Try to whip them and scourge them and put them off to the side and said you cannot speak in the name of Jesus anymore
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They said, you know, basically who you we ought to obey God rather than men and said we must
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Speak the things that we've seen and heard and that's the testimony of a believer We we must tell other people.
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I mean, it's not it's not just You know, this is something that well when I you know it's it's a take it or leave it type thing or I'll just give you this option for life as As as the message goes out the by the
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Bible says that these men preached with such an authority and I'm kind of just going there because What was so neat about their preaching was is that they recall the
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Old Testament they kept pulling from the Old Testament to not only to validate that this was the
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Word of God, but that God was Working in the mist and God's truth was eternal and and it was applicable for the day and it was important And we see that even in in James chapter.
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I mean in Acts chapter 15 After the Gentiles through the message of the Apostles were being saved
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The Jews did not know what to do with the Gentiles Because in their minds most of them it didn't even fit in.
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I mean they didn't even think of Gentiles being saved because it was a it was
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God had Separated his own people ever since ever since creation and ever since the
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Patriarchs and ever since coming out of Egypt it was just this focus on Israel and Jesus even himself had said that he had came not not for the
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For the Gentiles, but he came for the lost sheep of the house of Israel He came he came for his own and yet God was calling the
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Apostles to bring the message of the gospel to The Gentiles and he used the
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Apostle Paul for that and then they didn't know what to do to him What to do with them,
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I mean, how do they how do they counsel them? What do they tell them to do or not to do so they have the council in Jerusalem where they dealt with that in Acts chapter 15 and if you if you'd like to turn there let's just do that real quickly as we will use that to to bounce back to the book of Amos but in Acts chapter 15
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Reading in verse 8 and God which knows the hearts bear them witness giving them the Holy Ghost even as he did us unto us also
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This is speaking of the Gentiles They received the Holy Spirit and he put no difference between us and them purifying their hearts by faith.
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They believe And their hearts have been purified Now therefore verse 10 why temp you
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God to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples? Which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear the idea was what are we going to tell the
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Gentiles to do? How what are they, you know, they the culture and the customs of all the day and how they supposed to live
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But we believe verse 11 that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ We shall be saved even as they
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Then all the multitude kept silence and gave audience to bond Barnabas and Paul declaring what miracles and wonders
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God had wrought among the Gentiles by them and After they had held their peace James answered saying men and brethren hearken unto me
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Simon or Peter has declared how God at first did visit the Gentiles to take out of them a people for his name
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And to this agree the words of the prophets. He says God has saved the
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Gentiles and Let me tell you that the prophets wrote about this in the
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Old Testament as it is written after this I will return and Will build again the tabernacle of David which has fallen down and I will build again the ruins thereof and I will set it up That the residue of men might seek after the
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Lord and all the Gentiles Upon whom my name is called saith the Lord who doeth all these things
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Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world And what he's saying here is he he goes back and he quotes from Amos chapter 9 the last chapter of Amos Where it speaks of an
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Amos chapter 9 and not to not to be confused back then it is speaking of way futuristic
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It's speaking of the millennial kingdom is speaking of the complete restoration of Israel and of the remnant that God would have for himself
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Not that James is saying here in Acts chapter 15 that it's a complete fulfillment. It's not the millennial kingdom
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It hasn't the second coming hasn't occurred But it's almost like Joel being quoted in Acts chapter 2 where it's a piece of it
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You can see you can see and what what James was using Here was he took from the book of Amos and he said just like God said back then that he was going to restore and He was going to and he had a purpose for the
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Gentiles to be saved We can see that it's beginning to happen here and he uses it as an illustration not a complete fulfillment
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But it's a taste of it What's so interesting is is that sometimes when we read our
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Bibles we forget that these these these New Testament Apostles are quoting the
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Old Testament prophets and it's just showing the veracity of the Word of God is showing
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It's showing the uniqueness of God's truth how it is eternal and it's the fulfillment of God's Word God speaks and it's going to come to pass.
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That's what prophecy is It's God foretelling God foretelling and using the vehicle of the human instrument of the prophet to declare it now
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Let's go back Let's go to the book of Amos because what I what I need to do when we when we go here is just to Just lay down a few things and then we'll look at a couple of practical
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Portions of it here hopefully so that we can be admonished this morning Amos was from His hometown was to Koa which was in the south
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But Amos was one who preached in Israel in the north
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Called to go up there and in chapter 7 they tell him basically to go back home
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They're trying to discredit him and just say look we don't have to listen to you. Just just go Back where you came from, but God had
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Had called him to preach and to speak and to prophesy in the north and Basically, we have the same recurring theme as we've seen in some of the other prophets is that Israel has sinned
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Israel has turned away from God Israel has not obeyed the Word of God and judgment is going to come and basically here this is before the exile and the judgments are being spoken of and Basically, they are to warn the people
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So that the people would do something in particular and I want to show you this in Amos chapter 4 So if you turn with me to Amos chapter 4
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Amos 4 4 Come to Bethel and transgress at Gilgal multiply transgressions
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How are they going to do that and bring your sacrifices every morning and your tithes after three years and offer a sacrifice of Thanksgiving with leaven and proclaim and publish the free offerings
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For this like if you owe you children of Israel saith the Lord See even in there even in their sacrifices even in their offerings even in their worship
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It was so devoid of because of their sin that we're gonna see in in this book because of their rebellion
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Because of their hearts being so far away from God They were trying to still come and worship God a
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God whom they would not even live for day by day day in and day Out would not even hear the Word of God They would not even love the
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Lord enough to be able to to obey him and here we see that they are accused
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In this chapter we're going to see that they are accused of not only having religion without The behavior and the heart that and the motivated heart of love that ought to be behind it
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But I want you to notice some particular as we read on they fail to heed the warning of God verse 6
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And I also have given you cleanness of teeth in your cities. That's an interesting way cleanness of teeth means they've had no food
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It's just another way of saying there's a famine I mean is when you eat and have anybody after they eat and they smile look at you
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If you smile and look in the mirror and you say saying I need some dental floss or a toothpick here You know, I get that my wife devil asked me sometimes after we eat out in public in a restaurant
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She'll say anything stuck to the front of my teeth, you know when she smiles That's the idea. There's no food because there's
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I mean there's clean teeth because there's no food God has done this God is and and lack of bread in your plate in your places
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Notice the phrase here. We're gonna hear this over and over again yet Have you not returned unto me saith the
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Lord? What is the purpose for the famine? What is the purpose of the judgment of not having any food?
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The warning comes from God that was something that God had done as He's judging the people we're gonna see an unfolding of it here, but what's the what's the reason behind it all
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I know God is an ogre He has this big club You don't obey bang
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You don't listen to me bang You won't walk in in the ways that I want you to then it's this constant
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Just unkindness and Merciless Way that God deals with us
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But we know that's not true because we just read in in Joel last week And we see it over again that he's full of compassion and of great kindness
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Do we do we understand that? When God warns it's a mercy when
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God warns its favor when God warns. It's a good thing. I mean Think of this
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You're Going going down the highway and the bridge is out and Somebody out of their kindness puts the sign out sign up bridge out road closed and the barrier is across the road
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It's a warning Don't go this way Go the other way Because danger is ahead and you could die if you if you continue on Driving your car this way
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God has a way that he would desire for us to walk in and that way is one that we've heard all the way back
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From the beginning of Genesis God desires to walk with his people. He desires fellowship
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He was he desires as he's redeemed Israel Out of the slavery of Egypt and he calls them to himself
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We saw that in the book of Genesis and Exodus. He takes them out and then Leviticus He desires to take he took the people out of Egypt and then a
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Leviticus he desires to take Egypt out of the people's hearts and he deals with them about proper worship and Coming before the
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Lord with the right type of heart and God desires to want us to walk in that way when we do not
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God is so kind and God loves his people so much that he'll put up the roadblock
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He'll put up he'll put up the warning will come to us and of course we get the warning from the Word of God Don't we in the
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Word of God? We get it today from the Word of God as we read it and we see what God would desire for us to do and there
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Is a way which seems right to a man, but the end thereof is the way of death. We read that and We'll either fight against what
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God says that we are the way that we ought to go God it says this is the way walk ye in it or We'll fight against it or we'll submit to the
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Word of God and we'll do what God says because we know it's the right way We know it's the way of blessing.
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We know it's the way where God smiles upon us But it's so neat to see here that God says
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I've given you the famine Yet you have not returned unto me the warning comes so that the people the word the result is what?
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God is not doing this to show how how how how? Much of an ogre he is he's showing he's doing it to show how much he cares for the people and we knowing
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What's good for them and knowing what he desires of them to return? Let's read on a little bit verse 7 and also
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I have withholding the rain from you When there were yet three months to the harvest and I caused it to rain upon one city
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And I caused it not to rain upon another city just an interesting verse that talks about who is in control of the rain
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God is sovereign over Everything and even when it rains And it snows and on one one city and not the other one piece was rained upon and the piece were in it rained not withered
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So God is given the drought which course causes the famine because with no water. There's no crop.
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There's no food Verse 8 so two or three cities wandered unto one city to drink water, but they were not satisfied yet Have you not returned unto me said the
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Lord famine don't return drought And the people don't return. I have smitten you with blasting and mildew their crops.
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They're in a agra agragarian Economy, it's so important for them to have rain and to have crops because that's the that's the the economy and the well -being and the in the sustenance for the people and It says here that God sends the blast the mildew
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When your gardens and your vineyards and your fig trees and your olive trees increase and the Palmer wood devoured them
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Yet you have not returned unto me saith the Lord I Have sent among you pestilence after the manor of Egypt Your young men have
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I slain with the sword and have taken away your horses and I have made the stink of your camps to Come up to your nostrils yet Have you not returned to me saith the
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Lord? Verse 11. I have overthrown some of you as God overthrew Sodom in Gomorrah.
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Isn't it interesting that Amos the Prophet? Hundreds of years later is recalling back.
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He's going back. He's going back to the account of Exodus with the coming out of out of Egypt and he's he's going back to those days and laying
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Credence to those to the veracity of the truth of the Word of God and recounting the history to the people
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And I don't want to forget that point this morning as I think about this. He's recounting this history just like in Egypt I'm sending pestilence to you just like when
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God was delivering his people God used the pestilence of the ten plagues to to deliver his people out of Egypt.
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God is now doing that to his people Because Pharaoh wouldn't obey
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Pharaoh wouldn't submit pestilence came to him. I judged So that my purposes would be accomplished in you people my people
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Israel. You are not obeying me Pestilence has come judgment has come the desire is
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And you were as a firebrand plucked out of the burning yet. Have you not returned on him? He saith the Lord therefore thus will
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I do unto you Oh Israel Notice in verse 12 a phrase that many of us have probably heard and because I will do this under thee prepare to meet thy
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God Oh Israel prepare to meet God and What that's meaning there
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Israel is Implored to be to prepare to meet God's judgment because it's coming
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Because they will not hearken unto his voice Verse 13 for lo he that formed the mountains and created the wind and declared unto man
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What is his thought that make it the morning darkness and treadeth upon the high places of the earth the
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Lord the God of hosts is His name that's who's speaking here. That's who's dealing with Israel God is not fooling around.
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God is telling them what they need to hear and he's letting them know that judgment has come they've already begun to experience it with this famine with the drought with the blast things with the pestilence and Isn't it incredible they have not returned
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You might think wow, that's some that's some pretty stubborn stubborn people there They're hard -hearted or thick -headed or whatever
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All right. Let's go forward now Two thousand seven hundred and fifty years about to where we are now and tell me that we are not hard -hearted at times and thick -headed and The warning comes to us and we don't heed it.
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What do you mean the warning coming me to things like this happen? Do we not believe that God will will through his word?
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one through the circumstances of our lives Through the words of others
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Through messages that we might hear that God would put a roadblock in front of us when we're not going the way that we ought to go certainly he does that because he loves us and he's concerned about us and God puts the roadblock and it's kind of like if you if you're going through life and You're struggling and when you hit the wall and you put it back in gear and ram you hit the wall
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Let me try this again, I'll put it in you know another gear ram you hit the wall
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Maybe it ought to be that we ought to just stop and pray and consider. What lesson is
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God teaching us? What is it that the Lord wants us to learn? What is it that? in most of the time if we'll just Back up from it and be quiet and be still before the
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Lord and pray and as we're reading the Word of God God will in his way make it be known to us
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That we have we haven't learned the lesson that he's teaching us and it might just be simple trust
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It might just be complaining and moaning and groaning just needs to be to go away
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I mean have you ever done that I mean I'm talking about the hitting the wall, and it's a good wall to hit
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It's you read the scripture, and it's about a theme When you drive in in your car doubt you turn on the radio when it's the same theme
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You get a phone call from a friend And they don't even know what you're going through and it's a similar verse or it's dealing with the same subject about you know reliance upon God or dependence or faith or not walking by sight, but by walking by faith and God teaches us and God does warn us and It is a it is a blessing that he does so so that we'll walk in his ways as we ought
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Unfortunately Israel did not do that and there are people and It's really shown, and it's quite evident in this book that they are a people
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And Amos is one of the only prophets that I know of that talks about this theme
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That there is injustice in the land They are not taking care of the poor and the needy and I'll show you
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I'll show you an example of this I have 101 things to teach, but I can only get across five of them in the class
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So I'm gonna try to I'm gonna try to do this And show you a couple examples of this and then just kind of Pull it all together
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Okay in chapter five well In chapter four we get a flavor of it here this word ye kind of Bation Or you cows of Bation that are in the mountain of Samaria, which oppressed the poor
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Which crushed the needy and we'll see this many times repeated in this book
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You're you're oppressing the poor and you're crushing the needy There it shows it notice in chapter 5
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For as in verse 11 for as much therefore as your treading is upon the poor
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And you take from him burdens of wheat you have built houses of ewen stone
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But you shall not dwell in them you've planted vineyards, and you won't drink the wine of them For I know verse 12 your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins
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They afflict the just they take a bribe they turn aside the poor in the gate
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That's an interesting statement you turn aside the poor in the gate from their right It's like the the gate was the place where the elders would preside
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And people who had social conflicts or afflicted or like a mini court type thing they would come and their
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Disputes could be taken care of and they were turning away the poor They're not even listening to them not even allowing them to have their day in court or have a say
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They're just they don't care for them verse 13 therefore the prudent shall keep silent in that time for it is an evil time and we think about What God thinks about the poor and the needy
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I think of the psalm which says Let all those I think it's psalm 70 near the end let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee and let such
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As love thy salvation say continually let God be magnified, but I am poor and needy make haste unto me for thou art my
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God God raises the poor up out of the dunghill the Lord Jesus himself said that he would not
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Crush the bruised reed or or quench the smoking flax or the wick that's smoking he was concerned about those who were destitute and poor
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James wrote this in James chapter 1 pure religion and Undefiled before God is this to visit the fatherless and the widows in their affliction those that are afflicted those that are down those that are in tremendous need an
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Example of pure religion or true religion is that you visit them that means to do something about it
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That's what that's what really mercy is when God has mercy upon the sinner It is because God looks upon the sinner in their affliction in their sorrow in their misery in their inability to do anything about the circumstance and God Condescends to save poor sinners, and he has pity on them
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Israel was not having pity upon the poor They there was no justice in the land notice notice what the admonition from the
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Prophet says in verse 15 of chapter 4 Hate the evil love the good and establish judgment in the gate
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It may be that the Lord God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph So this is what they this is what they ought to be doing
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Because true faith demonstrates itself in a compassion for a person's whole
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Well -being their physical well -being and their spiritual well -being and that was not taking place in Israel And that was one of their that seems like that seems to be the gross sin that is in this land that there is no
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Justice and the poor and the needy are neglected and there in their palaces the rulers the
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The priests and those who should be doing something about the need of the poor they're living high on the hog
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They're in prosperity. They're doing well, and they're seeing Others kind of like pastor
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Mike's message last week. I think it was with the Good Samaritan It's like the the priest that went by the
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Levi that went by they're not going to do anything about it They saw it they knew what was going on, but they wouldn't do anything anything about it and God says that we are
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To love God with all of our heart soul mind and strength and we're to love our neighbor as ourselves and when we love somebody
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It's not just by words, but it's by action also and these folks did not have the action as a matter of fact
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There are metaphors and this book is vivid It's rich in its in its language, but there are metaphors used in this book comparisons and notice in chapter 2 to show you this quickly
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This is basically God through the Prophet Amos speaking in chapter 2 verse 13 behold
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I am pressed under you as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves and what that is saying there, it's the it's the straining of God's mercy because of the the because of the sin of Israel That is being compared to you take a cart and you overload it with with the sheaves of wheat or grain and it's pressed down and it's and it's just too much and The sin of the people of Israel was just straining at the mercy of God It's it's it's it's at the limit and that's the that the comparison that's here
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We see it so much so the metaphors that are used here notice in chapter 3 this one here is just incredible in chapter 3
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Yes in verse 11 Well verse 10 for they know not to do right see that's the the accusation against Israel They're not doing right
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They ought to be the right thing to do is to take care of the people the right thing to do is to obey God the right thing to do is to to relieve the affliction of the poor
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But you don't do right set the Lord who store up violence and robbery in their palaces see that's what they're doing fine
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But everybody else is hurting therefore Thus saith the Lord God verse 11 an adversary there shall be even
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Round about the land and he shall bring down my strength from thee and my palaces shall be spoiled so much so notice this description this comparison thus saith the
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Lord chapter 3 verse 12 as The shepherd takes out of the mouth of the lion two legs or a piece of an ear
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So shall the children of Israel be taken out that dwell in Samaria in the corner of a bed and in Damascus in a couch and the metaphor there is is just like a lion a predator who would come in and grab one of the sheep and The shepherd would go after to try to recover the sheep when he gets there, he's only got two legs and a piece of an ear and The judgment that's going to come upon Israel is going to be so Devastating that there's only going to be a small remnant left
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And that's devastating. That's a message that should come to them and the warning is there and they ought to heed it But they still would not return because we know that the judgment full judgment comes
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There is the going off into exile and captivity. They would not listen to the Lord But you know what's so neat about the whole thing is that there still are two legs and a piece of an ear
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There still is a remnant and God has purpose that he would always have a remnant And we see as this book goes through and you get near the end of the book and you get to chapter 9
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We still see that the full completion in the Millennium Millennial Kingdom. Is that God will set up the throne of this of his son,
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David and Israel will be completely restored and God will do what he said
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He would do with his people and they would be preserved and they would be his people forever No more to be taken out of the land and everything that was devastated.
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We're just going to be restored back again We see that over and over again with the prophets. The fig trees are going to bloom. There's going to be singing in the land
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There's going to be the the the possession of the land and all will be well. What can we learn from it?
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There's quite a bit I know that we talked on a few things but even this idea of the sin of Israel being that they there was injustice
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I believe that the gospel comes to us in such a way that God saves us that he gives us a heart not only
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Not only that we love God with all of our heart soul mind and strength but we also love our neighbor as ourselves and We take care of the total well -being of those around us by preaching them to them the spiritual truth
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But also trying to relieve them their affliction or The situations that they're in to help them
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Because it all fits together That's what God desires of us to be a people whose hearts are gripped by the pain of others and to do something about it
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Put feet to the gospel any questions Comments anybody awake.
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Yes. I see smiles. You're smiling. Great. Let's pray Father we we have looked at another book of the minor prophets and sometimes we can be so distance and it just doesn't seem to make sense for us today and sometimes we think of the history and all the
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Kings and who served when and When were the prophets there and yet we can open this book and we can read it and look at it
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And we can see your handiwork Coming to your people your love demonstrated to them that you love them enough to warn them
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So that they would return unto you and be ready to meet you Lord, we're thankful that through the gospel of Christ.
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You have done the same for us. You've warned us of the judgment. That's do our sins and You've put before us the cross of Jesus and you have opened up our eyes
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You have given us faith To believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ to the saving of our souls
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Though that your word would be true as it is said those that call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved
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And we're grateful that we are numbered amongst your people That you will preserve us and that you will keep us and we have a great hope and we can trust and depend upon you
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To do that what you said you would do to bring all of your children home to you one day We'll live forever with you face to face with Christ our
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Savior how grateful we are Please continue to be with us as we worship the service and all that takes place to protect us even to protect those that are