Prepare To Meet Thy God
Notes
Transcript
1 Hear this word, ye kine of Bashan, that are in the mountain of Samaria, Which oppress the poor, which crush the needy, Which say to their masters, Bring, and let us drink.
2 The Lord God hath sworn by his holiness, That, lo, the days shall come upon you, That he will take you away with hooks, And your posterity with fishhooks.
3 And ye shall go out at the breaches, every cow at that which is before her; And ye shall cast them into the palace, saith the Lord.
4 Come to Beth-el, and transgress; At Gilgal multiply transgression; And bring your sacrifices every morning, And your tithes after three years:
5 And offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven, And proclaim and publish the free offerings: For this liketh you, O ye children of Israel, saith the Lord God.
6 And I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, And want of bread in all your places: Yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord.
7 And also I have withholden the rain from you, When there were yet three months to the harvest: And I caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it not to rain upon another city: One piece was rained upon, and the piece whereupon it rained not withered.
8 So two or three cities wandered unto one city, to drink water; But they were not satisfied: Yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord.
9 I have smitten you with blasting and mildew: When your gardens and your vineyards and your fig trees and your olive trees increased, The palmerworm devoured them: Yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord.
10 I have sent among you the pestilence after the manner of Egypt: Your young men have I slain with the sword, and have taken away your horses; And I have made the stink of your camps to come up unto your nostrils: Yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord.
11 I have overthrown some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, And ye were as a firebrand plucked out of the burning: Yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord.
12 Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: And because I will do this unto thee, Prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.
Introduction
Introduction
The Bible warns us that the love of money is the root of all evil (1 Tim. 6:10).
Israel’s sin was not in being wealthy. Abraham was wealthy, yet he was called the friend of God.
David was wealthy, yet was called a “man after God’s own heart”.
Their sin was in the manner in which they accumulated their wealth.
They “oppressed” and “crushed” the poor (4:1).
Their pleasure came at the cost of other people’s pain. It was in the manner in which they adored their wealth.
Living in unspeakable luxury they never thought of doing without diamonds so some people could have milk for starving children.
In these verses, the fearless prophet Amos begins to name sins by first singling out the women.
They would certainly feel a cold shiver down their spines to hear Amos address the upper-class ladies of Samaria as "COWS" (V. 1).
It has often been stated that moral standards of a nation are never higher than the moral standards of its women.
Man has the power of leadership, but it is the woman who has the power of influence.
It has been well said, "The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world."
It was Eve who influenced Adam to eat of the forbidden fruit.
It was Delilah who influenced Samson to yield the secret of his strength.
It was a little maid who influenced Naaman to seek help from the prophet of God.
It was Jezebel whose influence controlled the actions of Ahab, who ruled the nation of Israel and caused Elijah to run for his life.
It was a maid who influenced Peter to deny his Lord.
It was Lois and Eunice who influenced the life of Timothy.
Man is to be the head of the home, while woman is to be the heart.
Whether it is good or bad, women have great influence, and the influence here was bad.
Amos was charging the women of Samaria because their influence was bad...
Verse 2 is interesting...God didn’t just say He would punish them, He swore “by His holiness,” by His wholly otherness, by who and what He is, that He would do so. God vindicates His righteous character in that He refuses to let sins go unpunished. Amos is saying that God is bound “by His own moral character to act on behalf of the oppressed”
Hooks were used to join captives together for the march to captivity. It was the custom of the Assyrians to lead their captives with hooks in their noses.
During the invasion the women would be herded together and driven like cattle through the broken places in the walls that the enemy had broken open. They would be treated as cows. They had treated the poor like animals - now they in turn would be treated the same way.
In verses four and five Amos sarcastically invited the people of Israel to come to Bethel and Gilgal to offer sacrifices and to multiply transgression. He also invited the people to take their tithes and offerings because they loved these outward displays of religion.
Amos was making fun of their worship because it was not from the heart, but strictly for show. Sad to say, this is the case with many in present day church attendance, outwardly, they looked good, but inside they were empty!
Beginning with verse six, Amos lists seven calamities that have been sent upon Israel (famine, verse six; drought, verses seven and eight; mildew, crop disease and locusts in verse 9; pestilence and war in verse 10; and burning fires in verse 11).
Seven times God sent these calamities in an effort to bring Israel to repentance but to no avail. They had become insensitive to God's chastening.
Seven is the number for completeness; therefore, they had received complete and full warning with ample time to repent.
Notice, in verses 6, 8, 9, 10, and 11 the sad words, “Yet have ye not returned unto me”...
God had give His warnings, but to no avail. Now, we find, He will come Himself...
12 Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: And because I will do this unto thee, Prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.
The people refused to repent, God challenges them to prepare to meet Him in judgment.
Hebrews 10:31 states: "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."
Israel was about to find this out and my friend, there are people all around us, this country we call home, they are going to find out just like the children of Israel that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God...
Let me share three important reminders with you today around those five oh so important words, “Prepare To Meet Thy God.”
1-All Men Will Meet God
1-All Men Will Meet God
The context of this passage is talking about the children of Israel, but let me tell you today that the Bible is clear, all men will meet God...
It’s amazing, people just don’t think about it…Nobody thinks about dying...(Life Insurance…) They don’t want to think about it.
The Bible says in:
29 O that they were wise, that they understood this, That they would consider their latter end!
Consider it today friend! Prepare to meet thy God! Once you are standing face-to-face with Him, it’s too late to prepare!
27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
Every one of us has an appointment…An appointment we will keep!
2-All Men Should Prepare To Meet God
2-All Men Should Prepare To Meet God
A. Preparation should be made by sincere repentance;
30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
B. Preparation should be made by placing faith in the Lord Jesus;
16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
C. Preparation should be made by receiving the new birth;
3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
D. Preparation should be made by Christians doing good works;
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
We don’t work to be saved, but we do work because we are saved!
3-Those Who Have Prepared Should Urge The Rest To Prepare
3-Those Who Have Prepared Should Urge The Rest To Prepare
A. Urge them to prepare scripturally;
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
B. Urge them to prepare earnestly;
6 Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, Call ye upon him while he is near:
7 Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts: And let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; And to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
C. Urge them to prepare immediately;
2 Corinthians 6:2 (KJV 1900)
2 ...behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)
E. Urge all of them to prepare.
1. Young and old.
2. Rich and poor.
3. Learned and ignorant.
4. Native and foreign.
Why? Because we are all going to meet God!
In closing, just so we are clear on whom we will be meeting…Amos gives some details:
Conclusion
Conclusion
13 For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, And declareth unto man what is his thought, That maketh the morning darkness, And treadeth upon the high places of the earth, The Lord, The God of hosts, is his name.
This isn’t just another person that we will meet…It’s The LORD, The God of hosts...
God has the wisdom, power and resources to bring them to their knees because He is the God of creation.
He “formeth the mountains and createth the wind.”
He knows the inner thoughts of all men. He can send storms or clouds or an eclipse to hide the sun in the morning.
He “treadeth upon the high places” as evidenced by the thunder and lightning.
He is the head of the armies of heaven and of earth (the God of Hosts).
When He comes against you, you can no more stop Him than you can stop the wind or blot out the sun or silence a storm.