Amos 8:11-14, A Famine in America??

A Famine in America?? Amos 8:11-14

I.

A. Famine Is Almost Unknown in America

1. We have been blessed beyond description.

a. We are totally strangers to physical famine.

b. Thank God for that.

2. We have been the envy of the world.

3. Conditions can change

a. It was a famine that caused Abraham to leave Canaan and go into Egypt in search of food.

b. It was famine that caused Isaac to do the same.

c. It was a famine in Egypt that brought Israel into Egypt during the days of Jacob and Joseph.

d. The last days will also be marked by times of famine and starvation (Revelation 18:8), Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.

B. The Famine of This Text is Different (God tells us that this famine will not be a famine in which there is a lack of food or water).

1. This is a famine for the Word of God

C. What Would it Mean to Have a Famine for the Word of God Here in America?

II.

A. A Nation Without the Bible is Without Freedom (John 8:32, And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free).

1. “The truth shall make you free”

2. “It is impossible to enslave a Bible reading people”--Horace Greely

3. No wonder tyrants hate the Bible

4. History reveals the Bible brings freedom

a. The history of the founding of America

b. The development of a nation based on the Bible

c. God’s preservation of the nation even in war

d. Churches have been guardians of freedom.

5. Solid Bible preaching keeps freedom alive in daily life

B. A Nation Without the Bible Is Without Foundations (Matthew 7:24-29)

1. The life or land built on the Bible stands

a. God’s Word provides a solid foundation

b. Building on the Bible we withstand life’s storms

2. Apart from the Bible there are no absolutes

a. Everything becomes relative

b. No one knows what’s right and wrong

3. The Bible provides a moral compass

a. A moral compass for individuals

b. A moral compass for the nation

4. We must get back to the Bible

a. To neglect the Bible is to starve the soul

b. Results are the same as being in a famine

C. A Nation Without the Bible is Without Faith (Romans 10:17), So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

1. Paul describes this problem in his own nation

(Romans 10:1-4)

a. A zeal of God but not according to knowledge

b. They were ignorant of God’s righteousness.

2. The Bible imparts seeds of faith

a. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.

b. Born again of incorruptible seed (1 Peter 1:23), Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

3. Neglecting the Bible is like having a famine for God’s Word

a. The average church member does not know the books of the Bible, the Ten Commandments, or how to share the Gospel with an unbeliever.

4. Great national wealth is found in the faith of its people.