 Okay, so here we are, Amos chapter 3, looking at verses 1 and 2 as we introduce our study. Amos chapter 3, beginning at verse 1. Amos writes here this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family, which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying, you only have I known of all the families of the earth, therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities. This has been a fun study. You know, we're looking at the Lord speaking words of correction and judgment. And as we have seen, as we've gone through chapters 1 and 2, Amos has been prophesying concerning God's judgment that is falling on the earth. And we saw that he's already prophesied judgment against various peoples, against various countries. And we saw that he prophesied judgment, for example, against Syria, against Gaza, against Tyre, Edom, Amon, and Moab. And all of these people were from nations that geographically surrounded the nation of Israel. Now we saw that in chapter 1 and into chapter 2. And so as we entered into chapter 2, Amos went on to prophesy against Israel. But he began first by speaking a word against Judah, and then he moved on to Israel. Now let me lay a foundation as we look at this, and I want to remind you of a few things so we can see the judgment in its context and understand some of the things that we're going to be reading today and studying here in Amos chapter 3. As I've mentioned, the nation of Israel had been divided. It was divided into two separate kingdoms. And so one of the kingdoms is referred to as Judah, and the other kingdom is referred to as the Kingdom of Israel. Now each of these people receive word that God is bringing judgment. You see, under King Solomon, the nation had been united. The nation was united and had twelve tribes. So when you spoke of Israel during the time of Solomon, you were speaking of the twelve tribes. So under King Solomon, the nation was united, had twelve tribes. When he died, one of his sons, a man by the name of Rehoboam, ascended the throne of the United Kingdom of Israel. But that didn't last long. You see, Solomon's son Rehoboam had an issue with an influential man by the name of Jeroboam. Jeroboam had been in exile in Egypt. Well, Solomon was ruling. But when Solomon died, he returned. When he returned, he led a delegation of the northern tribes to speak to Rehoboam. And what he wanted to do, and you can see this is found in 1 Kings chapter 12. What he wanted to do is he wanted to have Rehoboam lessen the grievous way that Solomon, he felt, had ruled over those northern tribes. And so he wanted him to reduce the burdensome service that Solomon had put on them. And so when he came and spoke to Rehoboam, Rehoboam sought counsel from the elders, and then he spoke to the younger leaders. And first, when he spoke to the elders, it tells us in 1 Kings 12 verse 7 that the elders spoke to him saying, if you will be a servant to these people today and serve them and answer them and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever. So listen to what they have to say, these elders said to him. Show them mercy, show them consideration. And if you listen with humility to them and actually act on their behalf, you're going to win them over. And they will follow your lead. But he also went on to speak to the younger men that he had grown up with. And so the Bible tells us in 1 Kings 12 verse 16, well actually the Bible tells us that he rejected the counsel, spoke to the younger ones that he had grown up with, and the young ones he grew up with said, instead of showing mercy, become harsher. And so when he heard that, he went and spoke to the nation, and he told Israel that instead of just showing them mercy and giving them some slack, what he was going to do is he was going to be even harsher than his father Solomon had been. So he rejected their counsel, listened to the young men that he had grown up with, and as they had advised him to speak in a threatening way, that's what he did. But when he came and spoke in this threatening way, it caused division. The Bible tells us in 1 Kings 12 verse 16, when all Israel saw that the king didn't listen to them, the people answered the king saying, what share have we in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, oh Israel. Now, see to your own house, oh David, so Israel departed to their tents. And so what happened is, and this happens today, I mean you can actually make this in practical today. And somebody has a minute, you can make it a ministry principle, you can make it a ministry. And he's about to retire. He can hand his ministry to a younger man. The younger man wants to know what to do, speaks to the elders of the church, the elders of the church say to the younger pastor, you need to show yourself wise with these people, because if you try and change things too quickly and do things your own way because you have your own vision, you're going to end up dividing the church. But then he speaks to a younger man, another younger man, and they say, you know what, you're the pastor now, do what you want. So he chooses to do what he wants, and in doing what he wants he divides the church. That's a principle that happens all the time. The elders spoke wisdom. The elders said to him, if you listen to them and you show them that you care, they're going to follow your lead. But the younger man, because a lot of times younger men want to show how wise they are and how powerful they are and influential they are, etc. Well, he went to the younger man and said, what should I do? And they said, be even harsher than your dad. It ended up with division. That happens all the time. And so what happened in that case is the nation divided into ten northern tribes, which is called Israel, and then the two southern tribes, which are referred to as Judah. Now, when that happened, in order to keep the people from the ten tribes from going back to the temple that was located in Jerusalem, which is in Judah, what Jeroboam did is he built two altars. He built an altar to the north in a region called Dan, and then at the southern border of Israel, just before it enters into Judah, he built a second one in a place called Bethel. Bethel means house of God. Dan means judge. And so what he did in order to keep people from traveling into Jerusalem and thus being influenced to return and reunite, he built these competing altars. When you go to Israel, when we go to Israel, we've been there many times, we will go up to what is called the Dan Nature Reserve. And it's up in the north there by the foot of Mount Hermon. And when you go up into that area, we actually will go into the Nature Reserve. You take a walk about a mile or so in, and you will find the remnants of the actual altar that had been built by Jeroboam. And so we'll have a Bible study there. So we go through 1 Kings chapter 12 and remind ourselves of what took place in that very site, because it was there that he built an altar. He actually had made, had two calves made. One was placed up in Dan, the other one was put in Bethel, and he introduced false worship to the nation of Israel. And so he built those two sites. The kingdom split around 930 B.C. And from that point on, the nation existed in a divided state. So by the time of Amos in 760 or so, Israel and Judah had been divided for many years. Now we had already noticed that Amos prophesied that Judah would be dealt with, which occurred under the king Nebuchadnezzar. But Israel was going to be judged through Assyria, and that took place right around 732 B.C. So as we begin our study here in chapter 3, Amos has been prophesied of Israel's judgment, and he continues doing so. And that's how he begins in verses 1 and 2, and he says, Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O children of Israel. Now notice, against the whole family, which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying, You only have I known of all the families of the earth, therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities. Now he's making it very clear, and we're going to look at this in some detail, that Israel's punishment is completely deserved. Though Israel had been split into two sections, I want you to notice this, God still addresses them as one. That's what he says in verse 1, Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family. They have been divided into two, into the northern kingdom, Israel, the southern kingdom, Judah, but as the Lord is speaking, he actually speaks to them as one family. And what he's doing is he's reminding them that he brought them out north and south from Egypt. So in his eyes, though they existed as two separate nations, in fact, they're still regarded as one. And the two nations are in fact still the one family before him. And so he says in verse 2, You only have I known of all the families of the earth, therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities. Now he's already outlined their sins. First we saw how he addressed Judah, and then he spoke of the sins of Israel. And he had said to them that they had despised his law, disobeyed his commandments, they followed false teachers, they perverted justice by taking bribes, they lived immoral lives, they brought dishonor to his holy name, they mistreated the poor, they encouraged the consecrated ones to sin, and they told the prophets to see-speaking so that they would be punished. What had happened, and I want to develop this a little bit further, is they had forgotten their own history. When you look in the Bible, when you look in the Old Testament, you remember some of the things that lead up to this point here that God is speaking to them concerning judgment. You need to remember that after God brought the judgment of the flood, man continued rebelling against God. There was a tower that was built, it's called the Tower of Babel, and the tower was built to reach into the heavens. And what it in reality was, was not a ladder to the stars or anything like that. Sometimes people think that they were so backwards that they actually thought they could build a tower that would lead them straight into the throne room of God. That's not what it was. The Tower of Babel was actually established for worship. It was a worship kind of altar that had been built. And it was intended to reach into the heavens, which is another way of saying that it was intended to offer worship and receive direction. And so it was an altar of worship and there are those who believe that this altar of worship was actually dedicated to the sun. We need to remember that in the flood that the rain had brought judgment. And when the sun came out and dried that rain, well, the sun became of great importance to people. So in a false way, it would have been a form of worshiping the light, the light that dispels darkness. So after scattering the people, he revealed himself to a man named Abram, whom we know as Abraham, and God chose him. And it was out of Abraham that the nation of Israel was going to spring forth. When you read Genesis chapter 12 verses 1 through 3, it says the Lord said to Abram, get out of your country, from your family, from your father's house, to a land that I will show you, I will make you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great. And you shall be a blessing. He went on to say, I will bless those who bless you and I will curse him who curses you. And in you, all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Incidentally, that's one of the reasons why it's wise for us to keep a good relationship with the nation of Israel. Because what God said then is still appropriate to this day. I will bless those who bless you and those who curse you. We need to remember that this nation was chosen by God in a very unique way and was actually chosen by God from the midst of all the pagan nations of the world. So when God shows Abram and from Abram made the nation of Israel, God was revealing his sovereign grace and his saving grace. In Deuteronomy verse 7, verses 6 through 8, God speaking to them said it this way. He said, You are a holy people to the Lord your God. The Lord your God is choosing you to be a people for himself. A special treasure above all the peoples of the face of the earth. The Lord did not set his love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people. For you were the least of all people. But because the Lord loves you and because he would keep the oath which he swore to your father. The Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of bondage from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. I didn't save you because you were mighty. I saved you because you were weak and I wanted to keep my word and my promise that I had made and that's how he spoke to them so they had a unique relationship with him. Now because they have a unique relationship to him, God holds them more accountable. Amos 2 verse 4 had made it clear that they despised his law. They didn't keep his commands. They had special privileges. They had greater opportunities and thus they had stricter accountability. They belong to him and because they belong to him he was stricter with them. I've told you the story of the two boys were fighting in the park and as they were fighting in the park a man came up separated them and one of the kids he turned around and hit on the bottom and so you go sit over there and this guy saw this taking place and he walks up to the man who had just swatted this boy he said to him let me tell you something I saw it all go down and they were both at fault and yet you swatted one and you let the other one off why did you do that and the man who hit the kid said well the one I swatted is my son and that's how that works I don't have authority in somebody else's life his father takes care of him but I have authority with my own and there are times that I will be more strict with them that's how it works because that one belongs to me and so the Lord is simply saying I have a special relationship with the nation of Israel and because I've given to you so much that the world doesn't have I've given you my law I gave you my prophets I've demonstrated my presence through miracles I have sent you angelic messengers I've given you the law the priesthood I've given you so many things it makes you so favored I've loved you I've demonstrated my love for you you have a greater accountability because you know more and God had commanded them to remember his work how he had worked with them and how he had delivered them again when you read the Old Testament in Deuteronomy chapter 16 verse 12 it says you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt you shall be careful to observe these statutes verses 27 verses 11 and 12 I will remember the works of the Lord surely I will remember your wonders of old I will also meditate on all your work and talk of your deeds Psalm 78 1 through 4 give ear oh my people to my law incline your ears to the words of my mouth I will open my mouth in a parable I will utter dark sayings of old which we have heard and known and our fathers have told us we will not hide them from our children telling the generation to come the praises of the Lord and his strength and his wonderful works that he has done I was a student at a secular college I was taking a class in this particular non-Christian college it was on marriage and the family and I was to do a paper which is interesting I will fill the story in a little bit more than I was intending to so what I wanted to do is I wanted to find research now this again was a long time ago I wanted to find research on the fathers impact in the family I wanted to know what secular and social scientists and social psychologists what they had determined that a male what kind of impact does this man have in the family so I wanted to see what research had been done so I could write a paper again in a non-Christian college I wanted to write a paper about the importance of the father in the home what role does that man have do you want to know something it was Cal Poly Pomona and I started looking for research now this again was in the 70's I went and looked for research to see who had written concerning a father's contribution to the home what is it that the father contributes in the family I wanted to see what research had been done and do you know I didn't find a single book at that time there were no books that had been written that were in Cal Poly's library I couldn't find a single book and then I finally found one on the father's contributing role in the family and it was written by a woman which I found very interesting and so what I did is I wrote a paper from a biblical perspective to my secular social psychologist professor and I said these are the things that the man brings to the home and I shared how the man is the priest of the home and the man represents authority how that the man establishes a sense of male leadership and teaches and I went through all of those things that would have been like a Bible study now once again I was 25, 26 years old when I was writing this a long time ago and as I was writing I said these are the things that the man contributes this is what he does he leads the home in devotions he prays the wife teaches the children under the authority of the husband who has been placed by God to lead a secular college and a social psychology marriage and family class and I wrote it out and I gave it to the professor who was a homosexual and I gave it to him and I got an A praise the Lord and he wrote in red pencil I still remember he wrote I have never heard this before I've never heard this before and again that was back 40 years ago almost 40 years ago I've never heard this before what is it that you're supposed to do daddy what is it that I'm supposed to do what are we as parents supposed to do as parents we give to our children the stories of God how God has worked what God has done what God does we need to remember these things when you look in the Bible you'll see that there are times that Israel would have stones of remembrance they would cross the Jordan and on the side of the Jordan as they were entering into the promised land they placed stones of remembrance so that the day would come when a son would say what do these represent and the father would say this represents how God brought us from bondage into freedom how God gave us this land and that's stones of remembrance and that's what God does every one of us believers have these memories where we can say God met us in a certain place at a certain time and it's not something I keep to myself it's things that I remember that I have shared with my kids to give them a godly heritage you see over 20 years ago now 24 years ago my family and I with my wife and my kids would pull up in front of this property here right here on pipeline and we pulled up in front of the property and I sat there with my four kids and my wife and we looked at this property and I prayed out loud and I said God in Jesus name I pray that you will give us that property so that we can occupy it and use that property for your glory we even came in our van up in the driveway and we didn't so much sneak on but we certainly weren't invited on either and we drove on to the property and I still remember driving up all of this has changed some of you have been with us and you've seen all the changes but this place is radically different than when we first moved in there was so many it was so different when we first moved on we didn't have the patio we didn't have the cafe we've done so much work over the last many years it's unrecognizable if you haven't been here to see all the things but at that time there was just the chapel there there were some houses there was a barn, there was a stable there was basketball courts just right outside here and I remember driving up on the car on the grounds and saying Lord in Jesus' name in Jesus' name I pray that you will give us this place and here we are 27 years later and my children they remember that my children remember remember stories they remember events they remember what God has done they have seen what God has done and they haven't forgotten amen and the children of Israel the children of Israel did forget they had forgotten what God had done they had forgotten their history the fathers had failed to communicate to them the value of being God's unique people of having all of those advantages of having prophets of having miracles angelic visitations how that God called a man from Ur of the Chaldees a man from a pagan background a man by the name of Abram and brought him and said, I will bless you they forgot how God spoke through Moses and God gave to them the commands they forgot all of that they weren't obedient to the Lord anymore and so they are very very accountable and that's why God says in verse 2 I will punish you for all your iniquities you are accountable because you have willfully rejected my commands now when he said, you only have I known of all the families of the earth that should have spoken to their hearts we are a unique people we have a unique heritage we have a unique connection with God you only all of these pagan nations surrounding you not one of them have this unique special covenantal relationship and because you are unique amongst all the families of the earth I will punish you because you are more accountable God is obviously filled with grace towards sinners but God also in the book of Hosea in chapter 12 verse 2 it says the Lord also brings a charge against Judah and will punish Jacob according to his ways according to his deeds he will recompense him and so he says I am going to punish you for all your iniquities and now he begins to ask a series of questions beginning with chapter 3 verse 3 can two walk together unless they are agreed will a lion roar in the forest when he has no prey will a young lion cry out of his den if he has caught nothing will a bird fall into a snare on the earth where there is no trap for it will a snare spring up from the earth if it has caught nothing at all if a trumpet is blown in a city will not the people be afraid if there is calamity in a city will not the Lord have done it surely the Lord God does nothing unless he reveals the secret to his servants of prophets a lion has roared who will not fear the Lord God has spoken who can but prophesy and so he begins to ask a series of questions and this is intended to illustrate what is justified in punishing the nation notice the first question verse 3 can two walk together unless they are agreed of course it's possible to walk in the same direction with someone but not be united in heart we do that all the time if you're walking from place to place there may be people walking with you in the same direction but you really don't walk together with anybody unless you're in agreement with that person you can begin going in the same direction with somebody and you can break fellowship in the midst of that my wife likes to walk I don't she does I don't so when I walk I walk at a different pace Marie is one of these I don't know speed walker types you can put your shoes on and see how much sweat we can produce me I'm kind of like you know let's just take a walk and so Marie and I were taking a walk years ago now in our neighborhood and she's just wanted to hurry and I'm just doing my normal thing and she turns she says come on hurry up no I said I take walks to enjoy my company you take walks for a different reason tell you what I'll do I'm going to go home you take your walk by yourself oh how petty I am but that happened can two walk together unless it be agreed no you can't you have to be agreeing upon where you're going why you're going what you're going to do once you get there you're going to have a relationship here the same purpose and so God begins by saying listen very carefully I have to ask you a question can you walk together with someone if you're not in agreement with that person see if you're going to walk with God you need to be united in heart with God so walking in agreement means that you're going to the same place taking the same path going to the same goal and the same purpose and so the point he's making here concerning why judgment is going to come very simple the point is simple because it says basically he's saying without friendship there's no fellowship and when there's no friendship and fellowship there's no unity Israel could not expect that God would walk with them show himself friendly to them continue his favors with them when they walk contrary to him when they were so disagreeable to him in their sentiments of religion in their worship and in the way that they continually lived and behaved you cannot have fellowship with me he's saying unless we have an agreement that who it is who's setting the pace and directing your footstep can I walk with you if you're not in agreement with me God is saying and the answer is no you see walking in agreement is another way of saying walking in obedience and fellowship in John chapter 8 verse 12 Jesus said I am the light of the world he who follows me shall not walk in darkness but have the light of life he's speaking about following in fellowship and walking in light in 1 John 1 6 and 7 if we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness we lie and do not practice the truth but if we walk in the light as he is in the light we have fellowship with one another the blood of Jesus Christ's son cleanses us from all sin so if we're going to walk with God we walk according to his leading and under his direction we walk in fellowship with him so the question can two walk together unless they are agreed the answer to that question is Israel you have not been united with me how can you claim to have fellowship with me so he begins with that question then he goes on in verse 4 will a lion roar in the forest when he has no prey will a young lion cry out of his den if he has caught nothing you see a lion does not roar if it does not have prey that it is about to kill and the cubs in the den do not cry out when their hunger is about to be satisfied if no food is brought to them so he's basically pointing out that God is the lion and he's crying out judgment to the nation and the nation is going to undergo God's judgment as if they were prey to his wrath remember in Amos 1 verse 2 how he said the Lord roars from Zion and when it said that he took the picture of a lion and spoke of coming judgment in verse 5 another question will a bird fall into a snare will a snare spring up from the earth if it has caught nothing at all well to catch a bird requires a plan intend to capture it and you do so by laying a trap or a snare so he's saying God's judgment is coming and it's been determined to occur by God himself and this snare of judgment will not be removed until the judgment itself has been accomplished verse 6 if a trumpet is blown in a city will not the people be afraid if there is calamity in a city will not the Lord have done it now God has said he's bringing judgment the trumpet warning is a way of telling people the judgment is coming so it's foolish to act when that trumpet has been blown when it's been sounded with that warning it's foolish to act as if judgment isn't coming it's foolish not to respond to that warning so God says I'm bringing judgment the trumpet is sounding but what's also interesting I want you to see there's a second portion of verse 2 if there is calamity in a city will not the Lord have done it now that's an interesting thought there when calamity occurs there is something that should be learned because of it J. Vernon McGee said something like this he said God will not let any nation dwell in peace and prosperity when it is in sin though there may be a period of peace and prosperity judgment will come if there is calamity in a city will not the Lord have done it I've been asked in the past whether I think that God still acts in this way I'm not one who will stand up and say this earthquake was God's judgment this fire was God's judgment I'm not a prophet neither the son of a prophet I don't have the ability to determine when God does or what God does that's not up to me but the question is asked does God still do things like that when it comes to calamity J. Vernon McGee was very sure that that indeed is the fact in the old as well as the new somebody said natural evil is a punishment of moral evil God punishes when sin is persisted in can this nation can this nation that we're living in can this nation come under the chastening hand of God can it I believe so I believe so now I'm not going to say everything that happens is God did that what I am saying is I do believe that God is still sovereign God is still able to act and I believe that God does act and very often what he does even as it says in the Psalms as I see it is that he will give them their request but he will send leanness to the soul and we will reap what we have sown and we do and even believers there are times when believers will say I can't understand how come things aren't going as well as they used to and then you begin to speak to them and you ask them what has changed well I'm not being blessed like I used to be blessed in the past and things are happening in my life that I'm not quite sure I understand why and you begin to ask and you say the simple thing well in the times when you were being blessed what has changed from that time to now and then they begin to honestly say well my life isn't the same as it used to be and then they begin to share some things that they've been practicing or doing or how they've changed in their beliefs about certain things and then they have done certain things whatever it may be that has led to God's chastening in their life I believe very strongly that the Lord loves us and whom the Lord loves he chastens and there are times when what I'm going through isn't being unfair it's me reaping what I've been sowing and nations do the same thing listen if you want to kick God out then he will let you see what it's like not to have him if you reject him then he will allow you to reap what you're sowing and that's one of the things that we need to be careful about here in this nation this wonderful nation because we take the blessings of God for granted but the nation of Israel did the same and God said you have so much accountability I am going to bring calamity and I will bring something upon you as a punishment as a judgment no I'm not asking for that I ask God for grace and mercy I ask God for an awakening in this nation I ask God to help the church to be revived because I don't want God's chastening hand on us I want God to bless this nation but at the same time we pass laws that make things that God hates legal and we do things to reject his law to reject his ways and then we wonder why it seems like God is not answering our prayers sounds like a rambling of some old hellfire and brimstone preacher doesn't it but the bottom line is that's a fact that's the truth we reap what we sow and we as a nation have to wake up we most certainly do we most certainly do we have to be aware of the times that we're living in we have to be aware of what is taking place and the choices that are being placed before us right now and I'm telling you I am in agreement with Billy Graham when he said, Billy Graham when he said if God does not punish the United States he will have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah that's a strong statement but we parade our sin now we even make them national events we parade our sin with no shame you know I don't even know how many people here even use the word blush anymore because this nation has forgotten how to blush this nation has forgotten what is right and wrong it has as a nation and I've seen it in my lifetime and no I'm not wishing for the good old days no there was a lot of evil it's been evil because man is evil a lot was hidden and wasn't up front the way it is today but it also wasn't celebrated either and what is being celebrated today is an affront to the nostrils of God and to the side of God it really is the things that we celebrate and expect the things that we put up with okay here's some ancient history relax for a moment story time first I'm going to give you some trivia forgive me for it it just comes to mind okay here we go ready question time how many of you have ever heard of Albus Presley see some of you haven't Albus Presley well why am I bringing him up for I don't like his music he had a song called One Night With You that's what I've been praying for alright so you don't know I'm just rambling let the old man talk One Night With You what I've been praying for okay Albus Presley here's some trivia for you the original lyrics to that song were not One Night With You the original lyrics to that song was One Night Of Sin One Night Of Sin One Night Of Sin is what I'm paying for and because it came from here's some ancient history you're ready here we go in the fifties black music was not played on white stations black music was played on black stations and in the fifties there was a crossover movement American music that started like with gospel blues rhythm and blues began being adopted by white entertainers Jerry Lee Lewis became the white version of Little Richard and things like that would take in place it was the British who introduced black music by white men to a success in the sixties but better get back to the point so a black artist brought out the song One Night Of Sin and it was not played on white stations and was actually banned because he's talking about having a relationship with a woman he should not have had and he's paying for it so there's actually a moral to it Albus was given that song they changed it One Night With You is what I'm praying for and that became a big hit but the point I'm making is that America at that time is interesting in the way it dealt with those kinds of controversies and they said well these people can sing that way but the general audience shouldn't hear that kind of stuff now we all know what that's all about but here's the thing there was also in the back of their minds a sense of morality do you know that there used to be people who would listen to the songs and even read the song titles and if the song titles were not acceptable they would not be played they could not be played just because of the title that when the Rolling Stones in the 60s brought out a song let's spend the night together and they were on Ed Sullivan he had a Mick Jagger had to sing the words let's spend some time together because they would not allow him to say let's spend the night together because of the moral implications and here's one more thing for you that it was interesting how that the song will you still love me tomorrow though written by Carol Klein Carol King was sung and made popular by a black group because it was okay for a black girl to say that she's having sex but it was not appropriate for a white woman to say that so I come from a different background of seeing the morality and the twistedness of some of the way people thought where at one point certain songs would not even be sung on the radio you did never you never would hear a swear word there were songs that had swear words that were edited out when John Lennon saying no it's not easy and he used the name Jesus in it people got upset Christ it ain't easy is blasphemous and it wasn't played and when John Lennon stood up and said the Beatles are more popular than Jesus Christ there were people burning their albums would that happen now of course not should it happen now that's not what I'm saying what I'm saying is America had a reaction to impropriety whether it was whether it was rigid legalistic, self-righteous but it responded to evil differently and today we give awards to people who shock others the most and don't tell me that God is pleased with that he's not he's not and that's why people like Billy Graham would say if God doesn't and bring judgment on America he will apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah because the things that used to be done in secret are now openly broadcast and awards are given for living that way where you take a man and I feel sorry for Bruce Jenner and you make him into a hero but in reality he's very broken very confused and needs a lot of help but we award them and the society that we live in now says white is black and black is white bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter that's what's happened it's happening right in front of us but like that proverbial frog that's in that kettle of water and because it cannot tell when the fire is turned on and the water begins to boil the frog doesn't have the capacity to know that the water temperature changes and he stays in the kettle until he boils to death because he didn't see the temperature rising he doesn't experience it but it kills him and what we are today I have to say it is like that frog in the kettle and it's almost as if there's a fire in the other room we're in our room we hit the door and we put the blankets over our heads and we're saying fire can't get to me because I can't see it and it can't see me but in reality the nation's on fire this nation is in danger of electing a president who tells you that they're above the law and yet we just keep without even thinking and the church is bearing its head in the sand now the Lord I believe very strongly can bring judgment and can even allow calamity bring calamity because it makes it clear if there is calamity in the city will not the Lord have done it and Isaiah 45-7 I form the light and create darkness I make peace and create calamity I the Lord I do all these things and so in verse 7 continually surely the Lord God does nothing unless he reveals his secret to his servants the prophets and so Amos is letting them know that he has been authorized to reveal what God is about to do when it speaks of his secret unless he reveals his secret his secret speaks of what he has been determining to do that made open to people he goes on in verse 8 and he says, a lion has roared who will not fear the Lord God has spoken who can but prophesy now remember that Amos was a farmer if you will he had heard the lions roar in the darkness and just to be out there I mean it's one thing if I'm in a zoo it's another thing if I'm out there in the open and I hear the roar of a lion it's going to cause my blood to freeze and he's saying, God has sounded the alarm and who can hear this without trembling in fear when God determines to bring judgment he makes it clear and he does it through his prophets he told Noah that he was going to judge the world he told Abraham that he was going to judge Sodom and Gomorrah he told Moses that he would judge Egypt he said to Jonah that he's going to judge Nineveh if he didn't repent and he told Amos that judgment was coming on the world it's interesting when you look through your Bible even at the very end in the book of Revelation he continues warning of coming judgment in the book of Revelation he speaks of judgment he speaks of the 144,000 Jewish evangelists who go out and preach to bring people to faith he speaks of two witnesses he speaks of angelic announcements of the everlasting gospel the judgment on Babylon and a warning against receiving the mark of the beast but even when God's word is declared there are those who refuse to hear oh that's so true and even so the prophet is obligated to speak what God says to Isaiah and see that he goes out and he preaches and nobody responds nobody listens but his obligation is not to cause the people to hear it it's his responsibility to speak what God told them so the Lord has spoken and he says who can but prophesy I need to speak if God has told me to he's saying in 1 Corinthians 916 Paul said it like this he said when I preach the gospel I cannot boast I'm compelled to preach won't do me if I do not preach the gospel here's an anecdote story as a young believer 3-4 years old in the Lord a little background I got saved I wanted to know what God's word had to say I wanted to learn what God's ways were so I could live according to them I could say that I have ever lived 100% according to them never have and on this side I have a never will I understand the weakness of my own flesh but I wanted to know his will I wanted to know his ways and I started early started collecting books started looking at different things related to doctrine and things like that that was my interest if I were not a pastor teacher I would have gone into the field of apologetics that's what I wanted to do I wanted to know systematic theology I wanted to be able to enunciate the doctrine of the faith I wanted to be able to communicate that as I was learning things about the Lord I would speak to people concerning what the Bible says and what they were proclaiming and I had many conversations over the early years of my faith in Christ with people who had different persuasions as it related to doctrine and I began to realize very early that I wanted just to know what God's word has to say and what the problem was and to a degree it can still be that I'm very outspoken and I don't really like that and so I didn't like the idea that if somebody said something that I'd respond so quickly I didn't like the way that it sounded when I spoke because it sounded like I was being mean and anybody in this church knows that there are times when I'll stand up and actually still apologize say if I hurt your feeling I'm sorry but I don't want to come up arrogantly I don't want to come up pridefully I don't want to come up like a bully I hate that and I feel that sometimes I do and you'll hear me after a service that I do it all the time you've heard me I'm sorry if it came off wrong I just have a passion about this I've been doing that for over 40 years over 40 years because I'm afraid to be misunderstood and so there was a time when someone would come and knock on my door and I was familiar with their doctrine I was going to Biola I was studying doctrine I knew they were wrong I had done my study, my research and I had sat under a man by the name of Walter Martin and I had read his material and so I was equipped at that time to be able to answer questions and so when they come to the door my mom if she were here could tell you how I'd respond because my body was in the Bible studies where I was just sitting there while somebody else was teaching and my body would shake because I would hear them saying things that weren't true that's not what the Bible is and I'd be sitting like this and I'd be saying shut up I'd be saying that to myself not to him, to me don't say anything don't say anything and I would shake shaking as I am saying don't say anything and then I would I'd say no that's not what that means no do you know Jeremiah chapter 20 verse 9 says if I say I will not mention him or speak anymore in his name his word is in my heart like a fire a fire shut up in my bones I am weary of holding it in indeed I cannot you have to speak even when you're rejected even when you are misunderstood I used to tease about Rawl I love him so much and I can tell you that Rawl has such a passion Rawl reached from Calvary Chapel Golden Springs for many years love him very deeply and there were times when he was about to go out to teach that he would actually be saying I can't say this I shouldn't say this I can't say this and with tears he'd go out and he'd say what God put on his heart because that's what ministers have to do and that's what you do it's a fire that's within you and you must be and the Lord makes it very clear the Lord God does nothing unless he reveals his secret to his servants the prophet a lion has roared who will not fear the Lord God has spoken who can but prophesy he's saying I have to speak forth what God has said proclaim in the palaces of Ashtad in the palaces in the land of Egypt and say assemble on the mountains of Samaria see great tumults in her midst and the oppressed within her for they do not know to do rights as Lord who store up violence and robbery in their palaces his prophets are to speak forth God's judgment through Philistia Egypt they're to assemble really to the north in what is called the mountains of Samaria and so he's saying that as they do then as they come there they do what's happening remember Samaria was the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel so he's saying the world is going to witness God's judgment on disobedience it speaks of the tumults in her midst that's the great outrages and sins that are openly being committed there in that area so they're going to stand in witness of the iniquities towards the poor the widow the orphans those who have been plundered it says in verse 10 it says the Lord who store up violence and robbery in their palaces they've become experts in doing evil they've forgotten how to do good Jeremiah 4.22 says my people are foolish they have not known me they're silly children they have no understanding they're wise to do evil but to do good they have no knowledge people step by step lose the power of understanding either good or evil the more evil they practice the more normal it becomes that's what it means when it says they do not know to do right they have practiced evil for so long that evil seems right to them therefore verse 11 says the Lord God an adversary shall be all around the land he shall sap your strength from you your palaces shall be plundered thus says the Lord as a shepherd takes from the mouth of a lion in the face of an ear so shall the children of Israel be taken out who dwell in Samaria in the corner of a bed and on the edge of a couch here in testify against the house of Jacob says the Lord God the God of hosts that in the day I punish Israel for their transgressions I will also visit destruction on the altars of Bethel and the horns of the altar shall be cut off and fall to the ground and perish the great houses shall have and end says the Lord now it's interesting how he says there in verse 11 following and we'll close with just a few words here an adversary shall be all around the land in verse 11 no matter where they turn there'll be no help available for them he's going to bring down your strength you're going to be brought down in other words you're going to be humbled you see you relied on your own power your own wisdom but you will be completely humbled and you he's saying will be judged even like Jesus said in Matthew 23 12 whoever exalts himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted when he says in verse 12 as a shepherd takes from the mouth of a lion two legs or a piece of an ear God is going to bring complete and utter destruction on Samaria the capital of the ten northern tribes for its evil and then he finally says here intensify against the house of Jacob and he speaks concerning the destruction of the altars of Bethel the destruction of these altars by the way occurred under good King Josiah in 2 Kings 23 15 it says the king tore down the altar at Bethel the pagan shrine that Jeroboam son of Nabot had made when he caused Israel to sin he burned down the shrine to dust and he burned the ashram pole he's saying God will bring complete judgment for your disobedience and your idolatry everything I will destroy the winter house along with the summer house houses of ivory shall perish great houses shall have an end says the Lord everything that you think is so wonderful and everything that you think is so great to have taken from you ultimately always remember that the things that have the greatest value and I've said this so many times I'll say it again are not the things that you put on it's not what you eat it's not where you live or what you drive the things that have the greatest value are always going to be relational some people love things and use things and when we make the mistake of thinking our accomplishments or the things that we materially have can bring satisfaction that's a huge mistake what really matters is the relationships that you have it's like I've said this before I'll close with this my father went home to be with the Lord he left some things to me wasn't even his will my mom they can have these things and I was sharing one time in this church a few years ago how that my dad had left behind some things and I said you know and I really didn't want those things well my mom used to listen to me on the radio she lived in Albuquerque at that time and she would listen to our either our radio broadcasts or she would tune into our services either Wednesday night or a Sunday morning and she was always in connection with our Bible studies that way she listened to me every time I would teach she heard me say I didn't really want those things and so when I was talking to my mom after I had said that and she had heard that she was pretty upset at me my mom on occasion could get upset and she did and she was mad at me and she said you didn't want your father's things she was not happy and I said mama did you hear what I said yes you said you didn't want your father's things I said no mama what I said as I didn't want my father's things I wanted my father it wasn't my dad's furniture it wasn't his possessions that mattered to me I can buy furniture if I need it but I couldn't buy a father back relationships matter material things are to be used but they never satisfy and the only thing that ever satisfied is a relationship with God through Jesus Christ because he gives us abundant life that matters