Seek God with Humble Hearts - Amos 2:6-16

Amos 2:6-16 Outline Recap: -Righteousness is having a correct standard of behavior, of right and wrong. Justice is how that standard of behavior is loved out, the expression of righteousness in the treatment of fellow image bearers. -Israel vs Judah, Jeroboam II, false worship, Assyrians decreasing. Prosperous/stable time for Israel and Judah Today: -God is zeroing in on Israel like a target. Oo. – Calling out Israel for their hypocrisy TELOS: False Worship is abhorrent to God therefore God’s people MUST seek him with humble repentant hearts! The back and forth V6-8 What Israel is doing, 9-11 What God did, 12 Israel’s response, V12-16 What God will do What Israel has done: PERVERTED JUSTICE – those perverting it and those being abused. •Abused= righteous, needy, poor, afUlicted – Unjust peeps=selling people, devaluing human life, trampling on others, taking advantage of peeps. •Directly opposite of what Gods people were to act like. Matt 5 Blessed are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek the merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers •God calls out his people, Israel, for being completely opposite of how they are suppose to act. They are so greedy for gain that they would sell a person just to gain some shoes, taking so much from the poor their just grinding them into the earth, the person who would do righteous while afUlicted they are forcing to walk in a perverse way. They don’t allow people to pursue truth. •Note: A commentator I read said: “the more patiently that men bear the injuries that are done to them, the greater is the sin of those that injure them, and the more occasion they have to expect that God will give them redress and take vengeance for them.” Vengeance is mine says the LORD. He is the just God, he is Righteous, He is the one to whom we, his people commit our lives to and trust to care and watch over us. •The incest of V7 – think of 1cor5:1 A man has his fathers wife. This is so hideous that its was not even named among the heathen in Corinth. Yet there the church was celebrating it. Here in Amos it is a proof of the profanity of their lives. The moral laws of society will not stand when the standard of justice is broken. •The people of God V8 are at ease on beds and coats that they have unjustly kept, the law required them to return the garments the same night they were taken. They are worshiping “God” with wine that they have exhorted from others. In the temples where they would worship the calves they sought to make God Almighty a partner in their wickedness. What God did: •God didn’t bring Israel out of Egypt until the sin of the Amorite was complete Gen 15:12-16 God to Abraham – The Amorites were Tall and Strong but God plucked them out Oak vrs Vine •Egypt treated Israel like Israel is treating themselves. •God did not leave his people without a witness even though they left the temple and alter and priesthood. I blessed you with SONS as Prophets and young men as Nazarites! Solid upright God fearing people. Gods blessing to a people are ministers of his truth. We are all ministers of Gods truth to our community. The church, the people of the church are God’s blessing to a society. The men women and children of Pillar are God’s blessing to the Hood River Valley, to Oregon, to the USA. •Nazarites- we think of Sampson from Birth. Nazarites were people who choose to pursue God whole heartily and intentionally by holding back their wants and lawful delights such as a clean haircut, grapes, dinner wine, touching a dead body. Israels Response: •Forget your truth! Your calling is so antiquated, the bible is hate speech, you’ll be Uined or jailed, •You crazy prude: have a drink. Force, trickery, or playing into the desire of delights. •SATAN WANTS the youth to be pulled astray – Call the youth to listen and adults to pray! DO IT JASON What God will do: •God is going to press you down under the weight of your sin. Your bodies will break, Armies Fall, ConUidence Flee •Assyria 40 years later What do we do? •Nothing new under the sun- there is still slavery (human trafUicking), devaluing human life (abortion, genocide and doctor assisted suicide) Black Friday trampling, 3000 years later this stuff still happens. Do we have a problem in our society with Justice and Righteousness? How do we see it most plainly: Sexual immorality. •We are left with a hard message today… There is no salvation … Outside of the Lord V6 Jesus is the Righteous Sold for silver. His blood is on all hands. Until the day that he raises our hand up to him and that blood washes our entire lives. •Book of Revelation, God had nothing good to say to the church of Laodicea, just like to Israel here in Amos 2. He told them to seek gold tried in Uire and to seek white garments and to be zealous and repent. •The warning of Amos 2 is to the church to CHECK OUR HEARTS. Where are we in our relationship with the Lord? When was the last time we sincerely asked God to reUine us for his glories sake? Psalm 139 search me O God and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me and lead me in the way everlasting! •I believe the book of Amos is a call, a call for PILLAR BIBLE FELLOWSHIP to walk HOT! To be on Uire for the Lord. I believe that Amos is calling, God is calling the Youth to be ON FIRE FOR THE LORD. For adults to pray and be passionate and engage all our walks of life! To POUR into our neighbors and seek out conversations with people to lead it to the gospel. Lets hone in on our calling and lets lay aside every sin and crooked way and pursue God with Passion, endurance, truth, Justice and Righteousness.