Seek to live a life pleasing to the Lord - Amos 5:18-27
Notes
Transcript
Amos 5:18-27
Seek to live a life pleasing to the Lord
INTRO
We are now more than half way through the book of Amos…picking up here
midway through the 5th chapter. Would you agree that it is not an
understatement to say God is pretty upset? And rightly so…right? We know
from God’s Word that HE is slow to anger but once HE is angry,…His wrath is
quickly kindled. (Exodus 34:6, Numbers 14:18, Psalm 2:12).
Now the Bible teaches, and we certainly recognize, that God’s love lavished
upon us is not determined by any merit on our part. Agape love…
unconditional love. It’s a constant, unchanging LOVE of God that is forever
secured for us by the blood of Jesus Christ. We can rest in that and be
forever safe in that TRUTH.
NOW, having established that, we do, with our lives,…either bring GOD
pleasure or displeasure. Love steady and strong from GOD to US….but a smile
or a frown we are able to place upon His face. God will discipline us when we
displease Him….but it’s always rooted in LOVE. (Proverbs 13:24) “Whoever
spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline
him.” God himself, as our Heavenly Father, exemplifies this truth in which we
believe and hold to and apply as parents ourselves.
And the treasure we are given this morning is a clear look at what is both
displeasing and pleasing to the LORD,…that we may be thinking rightly as we
seek to live a life pleasing to the Lord.
That’s the christian’s aim is it NOT? To seek to live a life pleasing to the Lord.
(2 Timothy 2:4). “No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits since his aim is to
please the one who enlisted him.” We are God’s soldiers He enlisted in His
Army. We seek to please Him….
We will begin by first examining what is displeasing to the Lord in
(verses 18-23). For NOT DISpleasing Him…and YES, that’s a double
negative…stay with me now. NOT displeasing Him naturally gives way to
pleasing him wouldn’t you agree. Dads and moms nodding affirmingly as
parents. You better believe it. A child NOT displeasing a loving parent is a
delight…naturally brings about the parent being pleased over them. I believe it
is the same as with God our Father. And there is NO reading between the lines
in that which He is displeased by here in the opening of the passage in
consideration this morning. (verses 18-23)
BODY
1)
FIRST POINT - (Amos 5:18-23). Knowing what does not please Him
So as we seek to live a life pleasing to the Lord…our first due attention in
knowing that which displeases Him is that of taking delight at our enemy’s fall.
Beep…beep…beep. I hear what you are thinking…Back up a bit Seth,…did
you just say what I think you said? That it displeases God to rejoice at our
enemy’s fall. They, whom we pray along with the Psalmist to bring them to an
open shame, to have their evil devises turn upon their own heads… praying
“that he, God, may cut off the memory of them from the earth!” Read (Psalm
109) in it’s entirety. It doesn’t get any harsher than that. WE pray for our
enemies as Jesus told us to..that salvation would come to them first and
foremost as ourselves who also were “…once His enemies but now reconciled
to Him by the death of His Son Jesus.” That they too would be reconciled…
(Romans 5:10) …..but if they do not repent…..chapter 109 of Psalms along
with other (Psalm 129) passages provide strong language in how we wage war
in the Spiritual battles through prayer against those who oppose us. And if…if
this comes to pass…if our enemy justly falls.…God is displeased if we take
delight over their fall. Perhaps you are thinking..How can that line up?…
Well, let’s unpack this together,…because I believe they line up do according
to God’s Word. Look at (verses 18-20) - read
Let’s not forget, (Romans 12:19, Psalm 7:10-13) our GOD is a mighty warrior,
who says “vengeance is mine, I will repay”…The One True Living God who
“feels indignation every day.” Every day….The ONE who, “if man does NOT
repent, God will whet His sword; He has bent and readied His bow; He has
prepared for him (for the one who does not repent) he has prepared for him His
deadly weapons, making His arrows fiery shafts.” Powerful…powerful imagery
of our fierce warrior GOD who (Isaiah 27:1, 34:2) “….with his hard and great
and strong sword, sated with blood, what a picture..sated with blood…will
punish the nations He is enraged against”….GOD will execute His judgements in
the fullness of the wrath of His fury upon those who - deserve punishment deserve punishment for their acts of unrighteousness. The same punishment
every christian deserves that Christ took upon himself in our place. Punishment
is deserved for every act of unrighteousness.…that is Justice. While all along…
While all along….He does not take delight in the death of the wicked. HOW do
we know this? (Ezekiel 33:11-14 & 18:23-24). “Say to them, As I live, declares
the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked,…”
GOD is glorified in His judgement executed. (Psalm 94:2). “Rise up, O judge of
the earth; repay to the proud what they deserve!” (Revelation 16:6-7).
“For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and you have given them
blood to drink. It is what they deserve!” And I heard the altar saying, “YES,
Lord God the Almighty, TRUE and JUST are your judgments!”
The wrath of man will praise Him…true and just are His judgements in executing
punishment for all unrighteousness….though He takes no pleasure in the death
of the wicked. This would be the PROPER, God reflecting attitude over the
reprobate…those who do not repent,…who do not surrender to the wonderful
Lordship of Jesus Christ in their lives and will be punished for their sin….the
proper God reflecting attitude is one of Lamentation. Ben’s sermon last week
had emphasis on this. Lamentation. (verse 20) “Is not the day of the LORD
darkness, and not light, and gloom with no brightness in it?”
Lamentation….sadness…NOT to be taking delight in for GOD himself takes no
pleasure in the death of the wicked. He is glorified in His wrath…in His
Judgement of them…but their death is not pleasing to Him. And let’s be honest
too…living this out ourselves who ought to share and reflect our Father’s
heart…is hard to put into practice. Am I alone here?
(Proverbs 24:17-18).…that’s why God provided this passage of scripture…
“Do not rejoice when your enemy falls (which we are prone to do)…Do not
rejoice when your enemy falls and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles,
lest the Lord see it and be displeased (there it is) and turn away His anger from
him.” This commandment is given because that can be hard to do? When
your enemy, one who has mistreated you, falsely accused you, stolen from you,
cheated you, persecuted you, lied to you….whom you clearly would mark as an
enemy….when one such as them falls and you see justice done…..for your
heart not to be glad when they stumble…to not rejoice when your enemy falls…
I believe this we naturally go to…I’ll admit it. I feel it and….furthermore,…I am
fed this by the world daily. We all are. It’s plastered everywhere. It’s the air we
breath. And, hear me,…there is a cause of rejoicing….absolutely…the matter
however, the matter however lies in the direction it’s given.…We are to lament
over the brokenness, the destruction, the suffering sin causes…that is the
right attitude…This reflects God’s heart…. lamenting over the effects of
SIN….saddened deeply by what sin causes. Jesus weeps over the city of
Jerusalem at his triumphal entry…he was weeping over the people’s sin of
blindness…they did not know the time of visitation…visitation of God to deliver
them….blinded by sin they did not rightly know, on this day Jesus enters into
Jerusalem to be crucified the did not know the things that make for peace,
(Luke 19:41-44) that JESUS would lay down His life for his people to redeem
them. That the prince of peace would make a way for sinners to forever have
peace with God! They were blind to that…blinded by sin and JESUS weeps on
that account knowing the destruction to come to the city itself. Jesus also wept
(John 11:35) just prior to raising Lazarus from the grave….though he planned
four days prior…and knew all along that he would do so. We may think there
would be this restraint to hold back celebration and jubilee because of what he
was about to do. But not so…he wept…he wept over the hurt and suffering in
the world brought about by sin.
Every human being is made in the image of God and sin is the
destruction….sin is the cause of all the evils manifested in man…this is to be
lamented over…in the company of…in the company of thanksgiving and
praise to God for Justice given. Do you see how these share space together?
Celebrate, Rejoice in God’s Justice……in the company of lamenting over the
effects of sin.
Perhaps an example will be helpful. Recently a close dear friend of mine was
clearly being unjustly treated at his place of work. Being careful not to react…he
prayed, sought counsel and waited to address it at a proper time….if he even
was to do so at all. As time went on the situation only compounded and an
opportunity was provided to confront it as he had peace from God to do. So
Gently and Respectfully the injustice was called out with irrefutable supportive
facts,…and yet….no just corrective action was taken. Things were left
undone…Injustice remained.
At which point, my friend left it in the Lord’s hands and didn’t pursue the
matter any further.
But the Lord did. And through Providential means, God
made things right with added measure of insult in a way that was very - IRONIC.
The very word used to describe the outcome of the ordeal. And I tell you, as
accurate as the word ironic was to describe what resulted in Justice being
served…I had welling up within me an attitude of “serves them right…sweet
justice…they got what they deserved.” And I got a sense that the same
temptation for similar thoughts were actively resisted on the part of my friend.
In obedience to God’s Word however, he did not go beyond acknowledging the
irony of it and giving thanksgiving and praise to God for it. And in the company
of this was a sadness we shared over the individual’s selfishness and resulting
damaging affects brought about by unrepentant sin.
“Do not rejoice when your enemy falls..” God takes no pleasure in the death of
the wicked. He is glorified in His wrath…in His Judgement of them…but it is
not pleasing to Him.
He makes that very clear…..And therefore, He is angry
with His people who had an attitude of taking delight in That Day in which GOD
will execute His judgments in the fullness of the wrath of His fury.
The Israelites were looking upon this as a festal occasion. There’s wasn’t even
a cavalier attitude showing an arrogant dismissiveness towards the suffering
of others to come which is bad enough….NO!,…they looked at it as a time to
be out and about with festive animation….whao whoo! Get’em God! Get’em!
Cut them off!
Far…far were they from God’s instruction through the prophet Isaiah…..
(Isaiah 26:9). “Come, my people, enter your chambers, and shut your doors
behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until the fury has passed by. For
behold, the LORD is coming out from his place to punish the inhabitants of the
earth for their iniquity, and the earth will disclose the blood shed on it, and will
no more cover its slain.” Far were they from this.
GOD says it twice for added emphasis . Opens with it in (verse 18) and then
He nearly repeats it verbatim in (verse 20 of Amos 5). “Is not the day of the
LORD darkness, and not light, and gloom with no brightness in it?” It is NOT a
festive occasion. It is one of great sadness, it is dreadful, it is a horror. The
Israelites were looking at it through rose colored glasses…tinted that way by
their own self delusion. And God makes plain to them what that is what that
self delusion is in (verse 19). They had a deluded confidence that they were
safe and secure to escape God’s Judgement..look at (verse 19) again “…as if a
man fled (past tense…fled…successfully eluded…escaped) a lion…and a bear
met him..(thought he had escaped the terror of a lion only to be met with it by a
bear) no escape had,….Or,…went into the house (which I take as his own
house) went into the house and leaned his hand against the wall, and a serpent
bit him”. OKAY, Arguably, the most earthly secure place you have is your house.
Your sanctuary after all the days toils. Bearing the weight of the days troubles in
full measure….you come into your home…your abode to finally relax, safe and
secure to decompress….lean your hand against the wall of which you’ve done
countless times before and BAM! A snake bites you. What?!..Com’on!
Seriously?! This shouldn’t happen!
What God is making abundantly clear to them,…is this… you are not safe, you
are not secure…you will NOT escape my Judgement! (Hebrews
10:30-31,35-39). “The Lord will Judge His people. It is a fearful thing to fall into
the hands of the living God.” GOD is warning them of this attitude they have
concerning the Day of the Lord. A warning we can take to heart as we consider
the day of judgement coming….and consider how we “may not be of those
who shrink back at His coming.”
Now we gotta ask - What led to this ‘desire' they had for the Day of the Lord?
This attitude they had which God so sternly warns against. It would do us well
to know for ourselves that we may not repeat their error. (verses 21-23)
provides that answer.
Grinch - (verse 21) “I hate; I despise your feasts, I take no delight in your solemn
assemblies”…This is Not quite the expression of the hate the Grinch had over
the Who’s of Whoville when he is standing on the top of mount Krumpet…going
through each Who…“Alphabetically… Aardvark In..Abikinerzer Who…I… HATE
YOU!. Aribee Benson Who..I hate you. Hate hate hate…hate hate hate…double
hate….Uugh…LOATHE ENTIRELY!”…..It’s Not that sort of expression here…
It’s not…BUT..but…it is a similar hatred in it’s intensity …OKAY…and one of a
much more serious matter that GOD directs toward their outward show of
religion. It was all ritual…all a show…heartless acts of worship….NOT
real…….FAKE. (Psalm 147:11, 78:3) They did not fear Him; their hearts were
not steadfast towards Him; they were not faithful to His covenant.”
The reason they were of the wrong mindset that they were going to escape the
coming judgment (Hebrews 12) and felt safely secure before God is that they
had their religious practices down solid. Feasts, offerings, solemn assemblies,
songs beautifully sung. Outwardly have this believing portrayal ….this believing
portrayal that they were in a right standing before God but reality was of a
completely different take. OBSERVE…as Ben noted a couple weeks ago.
There is no sin offering mentioned…at all. No sin offering…They were blind to
their sin.
Notice in (verse 22). First He doesn’t accept them..doesn’t accept the offerings
given…and then He won’t even look upon them. Escalating abhorrence…
escalated even further in (verse 23) “Take away from me the noise of your
songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen.” (Psalm 147:1) says…
“Praise the Lord for it is good to sing praises to our God, for it is pleasant and a
song of praise is fitting.” Only if it’s real and from the heart. If not…God says,
take them away from me.
All this escalating abhorrence portrayed by God is to signify the measure of
displeasure He has with superficial religion. With FAKE FAITH. God looks
upon the heart. Christian we know this. We may fool man, our neighbor, our
coworker our spouse our parent, our sibling, or fool our brother or sister in
Christ. We may fool everybody…..But we will not fool God. Outward religion
apart from inward realities of the life of Christ ruling your heart is an abhorrence
to Him. He hates it; He despises it.
The prophet Isaiah puts it like this (Isaiah 29:13). “….this people draw near
with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from
me,..”
Such a state is tremendously dangerous in that it leads to this self delusion that
all is fine between you and God when it - is - not.
An attitude completely blind to operating contrary to God’s heart who
rejoices in Justice in the company of lamenting over the effects of sin….first and
foremost which should be their own sin. God gives a shivering warning to this
that we are to heed.
Take in deep these warnings of that which displeases the Lord that we may not
bring a frown upon His face but rather a smile. HOWEVER,…if we are guilty
of any fake outward shows of christianity while void of inward realities of a heart
engaged,….or guilty of any sin that grieves Him for that matter…then be
encouraged to know that any frown upon His face can be quickly turned
upside down by repentance. Turning God’s frown upside down by repentance.
Take a look with me at the continuation, the continuation mind you…of the
Ezekiel passage we read earlier… (Ezekiel 33:11-14 & echoed in 18:23-24).
“Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death
of the wicked, (now watch this) but that the wicked turn from his way and live;
turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die,…Again, though I
say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ yet if he turns from his sin (this is
repentance) if he turns from his sin and does what is just and right,…..he shall
surely live; he shall not die.”
God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. He is glorified in His wrath…
in His Judgement of them…but it is not pleasing to Him…He makes that very
clear, while that which is pleasing is Repentance (dying to self) and in harmony
with that is also the Death of His saints. (Psalm 116:15) “Precious in the sight
of the LORD is the death of his saints.” Precious…
WHY is this, because both (dying to self and the death of His saint) both result
in being with God…being in fellowship. Repentance returns us to a right
relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ and death is the doorway to
being with Him…entering His Kingdom. Our Job is done…child has come
home…their earthly sojourn has reached it’s end….they enter the rest from all
their labor and toil….striving against sin…fighting the fight of faith. A song we
recently sung here has such lyrics “Soon shall close thy earthly mission, Soon
shall pass thy pilgrim days, hope shall change to glad fruition, Faith to sight, and
prayer to praise.” GOD delights to welcome His kids home as they pass from
this life into glory. We see in scripture that JESUS himself stands….he who is
seated at the right hand of the throne of God…stands to welcome us into His
Kingdom. (Acts )
As we move onto our 2nd point in knowing what pleases God ween in (verse
24) begin with repentance.
You seek to live a life pleasing to the Lord?… “bear fruit to him in keeping with
repentance.”
2)
SECOND POINT (Amos 5:24) - Knowing what does please Him
In fact, you could say… The authenticity of one’s faith is marked by “Bearing fruit
in keeping with repentance.” (Matthew 3:8) That practicing repentance is a
habitual part of your life. Conviction over sin, confessing sin, turning away from
sin and turning towards God. Repentance…this pleases God. Walking with
Him daily with this mind set…puts a smile upon his face that is looking upon you
with favor.
(Isaiah 30:15). “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust
shall be your strength.” This the prophet Isaiah says….in essence..church…
dear brother…don’t be unwilling. Bear fruit in keeping with repentance for this
pleases the Lord and by which you shall be saved. Do not be unwilling. Give
yourself to this, ask God for a penitent heart that is quick to repent….for
(Psalm 7:12) “If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword; he has bent
and readied his bow;..” He is not pleased and will fiercely judge you
accordingly. Repentance pleases God and right in rhythm with that is (verse
24) - read
Like flowing water…it is inviting, whether it be similar to Caleb DeHart eyeballing
some choice fishing holes in a flowing river or Timothy surveying the course of
rapids he intends to navigate his kayak through with exhilaration or perhaps just
the simplicity of being at it’s bank with your feet refreshed in the water quietly
taking in the sounds, the sights, the smells,…as all the sensations your powers
of sensory permit you to do….completing the sensory intake as you enjoy the
flavors of a favorite snack and beverage. Bottom line…it’s inviting…you are
compelled to be there. A place you want to be.
I notice this while driving along a riverside. The North Umpqua river
along the Diamond lake highway and similarly the Smith River…a tributary of the
Umpqua river are almost dangerous for me in a sense to drive along side of
because I look more at them more then the road itself….at least that is what my
wife would say. But who can resist right?! It’s beautiful. Turn after turn you
see a spot you want to check out and just hang out there for a while. It’s so
inviting.
So it is with Justice and Righteousness before God’s eyes. The
God of all creation is in your midst in a life giving,…peace surrounding way
when Justice and Righteousness are your practice.
When the rhythm of your
life flows to this cadence GOD is delighted to be present with His blessing upon
it. And when we are not there…repentance returns us there.
Seeking to live a life pleasing to the Lord is one who seeks every day to
have Righteousness and Justice operating together as a result of receiving
nourishment and renewal of your mind from the Word of God put into effect in
your life by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Lord takes pleasure in this in every
expression of it your life brings.
One last thing is required however, for God to be pleased. And our closing 3
verses provide that answer. Answer of:
3) THIRD POINT (Amos 5:25-27) Knowing what is required to please Him.
Remember, this is God speaking here through Amos (verse 25-27) - read
So what is God saying here? He is saying this, He is saying “You guys are
acting like I don’t exist. You are naming these stars in the heavens and making
them gods for yourselves…Who was it?…Who was it who provided for you in
the wilderness those 40 years when you had nothing…I repeat…nothing. Your
clothing, your shoes, food and water, warmth at night and shelter from the sun
during the day…protection from your enemies..guidance through the
wilderness….You guys had nothing and therefore had nothing to bring to me…
no sacrifices…no offerings during those 40yrs…I provided everything for you
and you are behaving as if I don’t exist and as if I don’t reward those who seek
me. You have - no - faith is what (God) is saying here. You have no faith and it
is impossible to please me without faith (Hebrews 11:6) “…for whoever would
draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who
seek him.” You are not doing this…You are behaving like I don’t exist and you
are not seeking me. You are all caught up in idolatry..picking out stars…giving
them names and calling them your gods…You cannot be wrapped up in
idolatry and be seeking the Lord at the same time…Same with us saints…same
with us.
And so God says, “I will send you off into exile with your false gods. You can
have them…take them with you, they certainly can’t take you being that they
don’t exist they are not real…you take them”
CHURCH - They had no
FAITH. All their show in their worship services…as convincing as it was to
themselves and the onlooker..it was not mixed with faith (Hebrews 4:2). It was
fake. God hates; despises fake faith. WHAT IS REAL FAITH?…Real faith is
witnessing one who’s house is ablaze with fire and them through shock, tears
and sorrow…witness them in the midst of all that have a rock solid joy
expressed in prayer and presence because their hope in God’s Steadfast Love
remains unshaken. That’s Powerful,…That stands in sheer contrast superficial
religion….That pleases God. that is FAITH, the genuine article thereof…
Nothing done without faith… which is (Hebrews 11:1-2) “….the assurance
of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”…nothing done without
that…without faith pleases God,… but rather anything done in faith, any and
every act of FAITH,…is pleasing…and it is by it that we, like the saints of old,
received our commendation from God, our reward, our inheritance kept in
heaven for us. (1 Peter 1:9) The outcome of our faith is the salvation of our
souls (Hebrews 10:38-39) “….my righteous (God says) my righteous one shall
live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.…be not of
those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and
preserve their souls.”
CONCLUSION
Hear and heed the exhortation in (Hebrews 10) “Therefore do not throw away
your confidence, which has a great reward….our confidence (Hebrews
10:19-29) being to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and
living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh,
….having such a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true
heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil
conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”…
“…NOT going on sinning deliberately” but rather,.. upholding Justice and
Righteousness in our lives while bearing fruit in keeping with repentance when
we fail to do so that we may indeed, in our efforts, live a life pleasing to the Lord.
Seek to do so along side me,…will you? Let’s pray.
- PRAY
Lament sin while rejoicing in Justice
Upholding Justice and Righteousness and Repenting when we don’t.
Walk by faith. Eyes on Jesus who is the object of our faith while living a life in
assurance and conviction that God does exist and He rewards those who seek
Him.
COMMUNION
When Jesus came up out of the water at his baptism and also on the mountain
of transfiguration…what is it that the Father said?… “This is my beloved Son
with who I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17, 17:5). It is FAITH in Jesus that
unites us to him and thereby enables us to please the Father. Only in Christ and
through Christ are we able to please the Father. And this confident access we
have to the Father through Faith in Jesus was opened to us through the offering
of his body and the shedding of his blood to atone for our sins. JESUS provided
a new living way to make peace with God and relate to Him as Father. It is this
new and living way we celebrate when we take the elements of communion.
The bread representing his body that was given and the cup representing his
blood that was shed. We partake of the elements in remembrance of Him till He
returns.
Benediction (Hebrews 13:20-21)