Majoring in the Minors PART 3 - Amos

Just before the death of actor W.C. Fields, a friend visited Fields' hospital room and was surprised to find him thumbing through a Bible. Asked what he was doing with a Bible, Fields replied, "I'm looking for loopholes."

Background

Farmer called to

be prophet.

Lived during

good times.

God had been

calling His people

to him through blessings,

but they didn't listen.

Now God

was changing.

He was going to

call them to him

through curses.

Will they listen now?

Prophesied about 755

Assyrian captivity

begins about 722.

They cannot imagine

what's coming but

only 33 years pass

before the coming

prophesied destruction.

Isreal had be growing

in boundaries and finances.

Assyria, Babylon, and Egypt

were not as powerful

as Israel during

this time.

So it seems hard for

people to accept.

Coming judgment.

All seemed well,

most did not

believe or accept

the message of Amos.

Chapter 1-2 The First prophecy

Chapter one is

about the condemnation

of all the wicked enemies

of Israel.

Amos 1:3 (ESV)

Thus says the Lord:

“For three transgressions of Damascus,

and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,

because they have threshed Gilead

with threshing sledges of iron.

Damascus

Capital of Syria

neighboring enemies.

Amos 1:6 (ESV)

Thus says the Lord:

“For three transgressions of Gaza,

and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,

because they carried into exile a whole people

to deliver them up to Edom.

Philistia

Terrible enemies.

Amos 1:9 (ESV)

Thus says the Lord:

“For three transgressions of Tyre,

and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,

because they delivered up a whole people to Edom,

and did not remember the covenant of brotherhood.

Tyre and Sidon

Wicked nation

along coast of Med.

Amos 1:11 (ESV)

Thus says the Lord:

“For three transgressions of Edom,

and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,

because he pursued his brother with the sword

and cast off all pity,

and his anger tore perpetually,

and he kept his wrath forever.

Edom

Kingdom of Esau

Enemy of Jacob.

Amos 1:13 (ESV)

Thus says the Lord:

“For three transgressions of the Ammonites,

and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,

because they have ripped open pregnant women in Gilead,

that they might enlarge their border.

Ammon,

Descendants of Lot

Hated Israel.

Amos 2:1 (ESV)

Thus says the Lord:

“For three transgressions of Moab,

and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,

because he burned to lime

the bones of the king of Edom.

Moab

Descendants of Lot’s

other daughter

Constant evil influence.

Judgments In the House of God

To this point,

Israelites are saying

Amen!

Kill them!

Bad People!

Enemies!

Now God moves

to house of God.

Amos 2:4 (ESV)

Thus says the Lord:

“For three transgressions of Judah,

and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,

because they have rejected the law of the Lord,

and have not kept his statutes,

but their lies have led them astray,

those after which their fathers walked.

First Judah,

then Israel:

Amos 2:6 (ESV)

Thus says the Lord:

“For three transgressions of Israel,

and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,

because they sell the righteous for silver,

and the needy for a pair of sandals—

Not just for

enemies of God.

God’s people are

also judged!

Same sins as

worldly nations.

Suddenly,

they didn’t like

God’s judgments.

Two taxidermists stopped before a window in which an owl was on display. They immediately began to criticize the way it was mounted. Its eyes were not natural; its wings were not in proportion with its head; its feathers were not neatly arranged; and its feet could be improved. When they had finished with their criticism, the old owl turned his head and winked at them.

(Gordon Curly - Sermon Central)

They didn’t like

judgments of God

when it came to them.

But it is dangerous

to judge God’s Judgments.

Who can judge God?

Israel’s Guilt and Punishment Chapter 3.

Judgment is coming!

Why?

Amos 3:2 (ESV)

“You only have I known

of all the families of the earth;

therefore I will punish you

for all your iniquities.

Because they were

God’s people

but they lived

like world!

What can we learn

from all of this?

Personal Application

so far...

This is similar

to the circumstance

we find ourselves in

as Adventists.

For the most part,

things are going

well in our society.

But it's our job

to predict

the coming destruction.

Christians are judged

for wickedness.

Ellen White says

the last movements

will be rapid ones.

Not easy to accept...

As you can imagine

People didn’t like Amos.

Most Rejected

Most may reject

our message.

But it must be given.

Our message is not

just for those

who accept it.

God is responsible

to warn those who

don't accept the warning.

The process of rejecting

the offered message

is also necessary.

(even by SDA’s)

Blessings and Curses Chapter 4

God is always

after our heart.

Patriarchs and Prophets Chapter 43—The Death of Moses

God speaks to His people in blessings bestowed; and when these are not appreciated, He speaks to them in blessings removed, that they may be led to see their sins, and return to Him with all the heart.

God is always wooing.

through blessings

or curses!

In both ways,

calling people

back to him.

Apocraphal...

There once was an agnostic farmer who wrote to the editor of Sabbath magazine. He said;

“In defiance of  your God I plowed my fields this year on Sabbath,

I disked and fertilized them on Sabbath,

I planted them on a Sabbath,

I cultivated them on Sabbath, and

I reaped them on Sabbath.

This October I had the biggest crop I have ever had. How do you explain  that?" 

The editor replied: “God does not always settle his accounts in October.”

God is calling us

through blessings

and trials.

Same in Amos:

Amos 4:6–11 (ESV)

“I gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities,

and lack of bread in all your places,

yet you did not return to me,”

declares the Lord.

“I also withheld the rain from you

when there were yet three months to the harvest;

I would send rain on one city,

and send no rain on another city;

one field would have rain,

and the field on which it did not rain would wither;

so two or three cities would wander to another city

to drink water, and would not be satisfied;

yet you did not return to me,”

declares the Lord.

“I struck you with blight and mildew;

your many gardens and your vineyards,

your fig trees and your olive trees the locust devoured;

yet you did not return to me,”

declares the Lord.

“I sent among you a pestilence after the manner of Egypt;

I killed your young men with the sword,

and carried away your horses,

and I made the stench of your camp go up into your nostrils;

yet you did not return to me,”

declares the Lord.

“I overthrew some of you,

as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah,

and you were as a brand plucked out of the burning;

yet you did not return to me,”

declares the Lord.

God tried to

draw His people

to Him through blessings.

But it didn’t work.

They still left Him.

So He changed plans.

He brought curses.

They still didn’t return!

God brings judgment.

Amos 4:12 (ESV)

“Therefore thus I will do to you, O Israel;

because I will do this to you,

prepare to meet your God, O Israel!”

“Prepare to meet your God.”

Biblical saying...

There are conditions

to God’s mercy.

Call For Repentance Chapter 5

First condition is:

Repentance!

Amos 5:4–5 (ESV)

For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel:

“Seek me and live;

but do not seek Bethel,

and do not enter into Gilgal

or cross over to Beersheba;

for Gilgal shall surely go into exile,

and Bethel shall come to nothing.”

God invites them:

verdict is not sealed

another chance

to return to God!

If they don’t repent,

judgment is immanent.

God speaks of them

wanting judgment

of other nations.

But being unready

for their own judgment:

Amos 5:18 (ESV)

Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord!

Why would you have the day of the Lord?

It is darkness, and not light,

They want:

“Day of the Lord”

but aren’t ready

for it themselves!

They assumed

judgment would never

fall on them because

“they are the

“people of God!”

John Stott in Authentic Christianity noted: “We need to repent of the haughty way in which we sometimes stand in judgment upon Scripture and must learn to sit humbly under its judgments instead. If we come to Scripture with our minds made up, expecting to hear from it only an echo of our own thoughts and never the thunderclap of God’s, then indeed he will not speak to us and we shall only be confirmed in our own prejudices. We must allow the Word of God to confront us, to disturb our security, to undermine our complacency and to overthrow our patterns of thought and behavior.”

(Lou Nicholes - Missionary Author).

In calling upon the Lord,

let us be careful

what we're asking for.

If we're asking

for judgment...

are we prepared

for that judgment?

If we are praying

for the second coming,

are we prepared for

the second coming?

Do we know

what side we will be

standing on when

Christ comes through

the clouds of Glory?

Let us be careful

what we ask for..

Once when Calvin Coolidge was Vice President and presiding over the Senate, an altercation arose between two Senators. Tempers flared, and one Senator told the other to go straight to hell. The offended Senator stormed from his seat, marched down the aisle and stood before Mr. Coolidge, who was silently leafing through a book. “Mr. President,” he said, “did you hear what he said to me?” Coolidge looked up from his book and said calmly, “You know, I have been looking through the rule book. You don’t have to go.” (Encyclopedia of Illustrations #6511).

Back in Israel...

God had grown tired

of false believers.

Amos 5:21–24 (ESV)

“I hate, I despise your feasts,

and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.

Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings,

I will not accept them;

and the peace offerings of your fattened animals,

I will not look upon them.

Take away from me the noise of your songs;

to the melody of your harps I will not listen.

But let justice roll down like waters,

and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

God hated

their sacrifices

their songs

their entire worship.

Because they were

not sincere.

They worshiped

God and idols!

Useless forms!

How is our worship?

Is it powerless forms?

Or does it actually

change our lives?

Great Controversy Chapter 17—Heralds of the Morning

Unless the church will follow on in His opening providence, accepting every ray of light, performing every duty which may be revealed, religion will inevitably degenerate into the observance of forms, and the spirit of vital godliness will disappear.

If the worship

doesn’t make me

more like Jesus.

It is empty...

Woe to Those at Ease in Zion Chapter 6

Are you awake?

Amos 6:4–7 (ESV)

“Woe to those who lie on beds of ivory

and stretch themselves out on their couches,

and eat lambs from the flock

and calves from the midst of the stall,

who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp

and like David invent for themselves instruments of music,

who drink wine in bowls

and anoint themselves with the finest oils,

but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!

Therefore they shall now be the first of those who go into exile,

and the revelry of those who stretch themselves out shall pass away.”

Those who recline

at banquets will

be destroyed because

they don't see

the coming judgment.

They were warned

but they didn’t believe.

They were

partying instead...

Where is your mind

too busy with fun?

praying

partying?

Dr. Ian Paisley, the fiery Irish cleric and politician was reported to have been preaching one Sunday on the End Times - and in particular on the Day of Judgment.

As he reached the climax of his address he said that on the Day of Judgment “there would be wailing and gnashing of teeth”.

At which point an old woman put up her hand and said “Dr. Paisley, I have no teeth.”

Paisley replied “Madam, teeth will be provided”

(Source Unknown).

Final Visions Chapter 7 and 8

Five visions

Vision of locust

Amos prays for Israel

and God relents

Vision of fire

Amos prays for Israel

and God relents.

Vision of Plumb Line:

Amos 7:7 ESV

This is what he showed me: behold, the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand.

What is a plumb line

used for?

Vertically straight

not leaning.

Symbol of

God’s evaluation

of Israel’s character.

Are they

plumb

straight

right

righteous

true

honest?

An umpire named Babe Pinelli once called Babe Ruth out on strikes. When the crowd booed with sharp disapproval at the call, the legendary Ruth turned to the umpire with disdain and said, “There’s 40,000 people here who know that the last pitch was a ball.”

Suspecting that the umpire would erupt with anger, the coaches and players braced themselves for Ruth’s ejection.

However, the cool headed Pinelli replied, “Maybe so, Babe, but mine is the only opinion that counts.”

(Paul Fritz, Sermon Central).

In the end,

It’s only God’s

opinion that counts.

Prophet Rejected

Amos 7:12–13 ESV

And Amaziah said to Amos, “O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, and eat bread there, and prophesy there, but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom.”

Amaziah priest

golden calf.

Tells on him

complains to the king.

Get out of here.

His prophecies

were unwelcome.

His prophecies were

unwelcome there!

Reminds me of a story.

A donkey crossing a river with a load of salt lost his footing and slipped into the water, so that the salt was dissolved. He was mightily pleased at finding himself relieved of his burden when he got upon his legs again.

So the next time he came to a river with a load on his back, thinking that the same thing would happen if he got into the water, he let himself go under on purpose. But this time he was loaded with sponges, which absorbed so much water that he could not keep his head up and was drowned.

(Encyclopedia of Illustrations #474).

The rejection of

God’s message

God’s messenger

Do not go unnoticed.

God Curses Priest

the coming destruction...

Amos 7:17 (ESV)

Therefore thus says the Lord:

“ ‘Your wife shall be a prostitute in the city,

and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword,

and your land shall be divided up with a measuring line;

you yourself shall die in an unclean land,

and Israel shall surely go into exile away from its land.’ ”

Just like final plagues

those who reject

God’s word at end

are cursed with plagues.

We should not be afraid

if our message is

not well received.

God’s prophets

throughout time

have been rejected.

Should we expect

in worst time in history

message accepted more?

No… Rejected...

When rejected

what did prophet do?

How should we judge

our success?

Should we judge

our success based on

how many people accept

our message?

(Baptisms)

Or should we judge

our success based on

whether we bore

the message of God

truly,

accurately,

winsome way.

Part of “success”

giving a chance to

those who will reject.

Their rejection of

the message of God

is necessary part

of their judgment.

Improve methods

keep on preaching.

Visions with Food Chapter 8

8:1-3 vision

of summer fruit.

The summer is

about to end.

So the time of

blessing upon Israel's

about ready to end.

Next comes

fall and winter.

Right now Israel

can only see

the joy of harvest

and blessing.

They can't see

the coming winter

of devastation.

This is similar to the

tribulation and the plagues

in the last days.

End comes suddenly

when people are

not expecting

not ready.

It happened that a fire broke out backstage in a circus.

The clown came out to inform the public.

They thought it was a jest and applauded.

He repeated his warning; they shouted even louder.

So I think the world will come to an end amid general applause from all the wits, who believe that it is a joke.

- (Soren Kierkegaard).

Complete Darkness

Interesting passage:

Amos 8:9 (ESV)

“And on that day,” declares the Lord God,

“I will make the sun go down at noon

and darken the earth in broad daylight.

We know there was

solar eclipse

June 15, 763

(8 years earlier)

Referring to eclipse.

Eclipse is a symbol

of what's happening

in Israel.

The darkness is

covering the land.

(Spiritually)

Then come these

profound words:

Amos 8:11–12 (ESV)

“Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord God,

“when I will send a famine on the land—

not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water,

but of hearing the words of the Lord.

They shall wander from sea to sea,

and from north to east;

they shall run to and fro, to seek the word of the Lord,

but they shall not find it.

Famine for the

word of God.

The deepest famine

the world can experience

is not a famine of

food or water

but for God's word!

Are we experiencing

a famine?

Are you taking time

to feast on God’s Word?

This is what

will get us through

the last days.

Destruction and Restoration Chapter 9

9:1-10 -

the coming destruction

of Israel.

V. 4 - “I will set my eyes

“on them for harm

and not for good.”

Last 5 Verses...

9:11-15 -

the restoration of Israel.

Amos 9:11–15 (ESV)

“In that day I will raise up

the booth of David that is fallen

and repair its breaches,

and raise up its ruins

and rebuild it as in the days of old,

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, the days are coming,” declares the Lord,

“when the plowman shall overtake the reaper

and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed;

the mountains shall drip sweet wine,

and all the hills shall flow with it.

I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel,

and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them;

they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine,

and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit.

I will plant them on their land,

and they shall never again be uprooted

out of the land that I have given them,”

says the Lord your God.

Amazing words of

grace and forgiveness...

Unfortunately,

This prophecy was

never was fulfilled literally.

Israel has been cut off.

Removed from covenant.

Over 2600 years later

re-established as country

but without God

without covenant.

Prophets and Kings Section 7—Light at Eventide

That which God purposed to do for the world through Israel, the chosen nation, He will finally accomplish through His church on earth today.

...

Prophets and Kings Section 7—Light at Eventide

Today the church of God is free to carry forward to completion the divine plan for the salvation of a lost race.

Their loss

is our gain.

Will we succeed

where they failed?

Only through

humility

grace

obedience.

Lightening Fire

Midwest

Coming at you

Backburn

"Are you sure we shall not all be burned up?"

the flames cannot reach us here, for we are standing where the fire has been!"

Appeal

The judgment is coming.

Only question.

What side we

will find ourselves.

I ask you.

Be the prophet

one bearing message

of coming judgment.

In this way,

save souls

keep yourself awake.