"Behold, the days are Coming"
Notes
Transcript
“Behold, the days are Coming”
“Behold, the days are Coming”
1 Thus the Lord God showed me: Behold, a basket of summer fruit.
2 And He said, “Amos, what do you see?” So I said, “A basket of summer fruit.” Then the Lord said to me: “The end has come upon My people Israel; I will not pass by them anymore.
3 And the songs of the temple Shall be wailing in that day,” Says the Lord God— “Many dead bodies everywhere, They shall be thrown out in silence.”
4 Hear this, you who swallow up the needy, And make the poor of the land fail,
5 Saying: “When will the New Moon be past, That we may sell grain? And the Sabbath, That we may trade wheat? Making the ephah small and the shekel large, Falsifying the scales by deceit,
6 That we may buy the poor for silver, And the needy for a pair of sandals— Even sell the bad wheat?”
7 The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob: “Surely I will never forget any of their works.
8 Shall the land not tremble for this, And everyone mourn who dwells in it? All of it shall swell like the River, Heave and subside Like the River of Egypt.
9 “And it shall come to pass in that day,” says the Lord God, “That I will make the sun go down at noon, And I will darken the earth in broad daylight;
10 I will turn your feasts into mourning, And all your songs into lamentation; I will bring sackcloth on every waist, And baldness on every head; I will make it like mourning for an only son, And its end like a bitter day.
Your Cheatin’ Heart is a song written and recorded in 1952 by country music singer and songwriter Hank Williams. However, the song was released after his death in 1953.
Your Cheatin’ Heart is considered one of the greatest songs of country music. The song is a slow ballad, telling an unfaithful lover of the guilt that she felt for cheating on the singer. The story goes that Williams was prompted to write the song when thinking about his first wife, Audrey Williams, while driving around with his second wife, Billie Jean Williams. She was supposed to have written down the lyrics for him in the passenger seat. When it was released it remained in the number one slot for country music for six weeks.
Rolling Stone ranked it #213 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 2003, Country Music Television ranked the song #5 in CMT’s 100 Greatest Songs in Country Music but gave it the #1 rating in the 40 Greatest Done Me Wrong (Cheatin’) Songs. Ray Charles, Patsy Cline, Elvis Presley, and Louis Armstrong are just a few who have recorded the song. Your Cheatin’ Heart was the title of the 1964 movie of Hank Williams life with George Hamilton playing the part of Williams.
It could have been the theme song for King Solomon. Solomon had everything imaginable working in his favor. At first, it seemed as if Solomon would gratefully follow God. He greatly pleased the Lord, and the Lord poured out blessings on this man like no one before or since then. Yet by the end of his reign, he had squandered away nearly every advantage.
https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermon-illustrations/100752/obedience-by-ed-sasnett?ref=TextIllustrationSerps
This could of been said for the country of Israel. Amos lived during a time of moral decay and theological misconceptions. Sounds very familiar, does it not? This could be said of our present culture. In fact, it could be said of all humanity.
Amos wrote a lot of prophecy. Some of it was to take place such as chapter 9, which would take place in the next 50 years. There are parts of this chapter which are definitely further in the future. The reference in verse 3 to “many dead bodies in every place; they shall cast them forth with silence”; could be a result of any or combination of the 7 seals of the tribulation.
Amos makes a case for those who cheat other people especially the poor. Those who are out to make a profit with whatever means possible. Amos goes on to describe the cruelty to which extent they would go to. Even sweeping up the garbage and selling that also. We see this in our time also. It is sickening. We see it in every aspect of life. In and out of the church. People who call themselves Christians, but do not demonstrate Christianity in their business dealings.
This leads to a prophecy of the famine of hearing the Word of God. This is a very scary thing. This will come as a result of the decline of Christians.
3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition,
"Between 2007 and 2014, the Christian share of the population fell from 78.4% to 70.6%, driven mainly by declines among both mainline Protestants and Catholics. The unaffiliated experienced the most growth, and the share of Americans who belong to non-Christian faiths also increased."
http://www.religioustolerance.org/decline-of-christianity-in-the-us.htm
The percentage of Christians are declining by 1% every year and non-Christian religions are growing by 1.2% every year. If this rate continues, then Christianity will be a minority by 2033. This is not an isolated occurence. This has been the trend in European countries since WW2.
11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.
12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.
13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved.
This sounds so much like our world today. In order for a heart to grow cold, it had to be at least once before. They originally loved the truth, but walked away from it. This usually happens because of temptation, desensitization to sin, and/or self matters. As a person starts to entertain ideas contrary to God’s word or allows themselves to be exposed to so much sin it eats away at our moral compass, or focused too much on self, then a slippery slope is up next.
19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
We see this already at work in our world. This is why we need each other. Iron sharpens iron. We need to continue to put on the armour of God. Not only that, but to take care of our armour. If do not take care of it, then our shield will become brittle and break. Our sword will not become dull, because the Word of God does not change, but our ability to use it, will become dull. We need to be on guard.
We may remember the times when we did not have to lock our doors. Our kids could play without much supervision outside. Unfortunately, times have changed. The evil in the world has multiplied. Now, we lock our doors. We watch our children closely. We need to treat our relationship with the Lord the same way. We need to make sure we guard up our heart and our mind. Jesus Christ is the lover of our soul and we need to fight for that like we would fight for our spouse or our children. It must be the diamond in our life that we continue to polish.
12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:
Praise God. We can make a difference.
6 But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, “These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.
We can change our community. We can change our world. We must live out the Word of God. We must also find a way to share the gospel with those around us. It is the only constant in an ever changing world.
Conclusion:
Sometimes we feel we are missing that anchor. Maybe we realize that we have allowed the things of this world to draw us away from that diamond. Maybe that diamond is beginning to look dull. We may look at it and think maybe i was wrong and maybe it was not worth as much as I thought it was. The value of that diamond has not changed but maybe we have. If so, today is your day. Today is the day to get back in there and treasure that diamond like never before. To realize the Bible has all the answers we will ever need.
A. Acknowledge
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
B. Believe
31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
C. Confess
9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.