 Today we're in chapter 5 of the book of Amos. We're going to be looking at chapter 5 and I chose to entitle this particular installment of our study, Seek Me and Live. And you'll see why I chose to entitle our study in that fashion in just a moment. So let's begin reading here in Amos, chapter 5 at verse 1. We'll read verses 1 through 3 and we'll get into our study. Amos, chapter 5, beginning at verse 1, reading to verse 3, Seek Me and Live. Amos writes, hear this word which I take up against you, this lamentation, O house of Israel. The Virgin of Israel has fallen. She will rise no more. She lies forsaken on her land. There's no one to raise her up. For thus says the Lord God. The city that goes out by a thousand shall have a hundred left, and that which goes out by a hundred shall have ten left to the house of Israel. Now chapter 5, as we are now entering into chapter 5 here in the book of Amos, chapter 5 is a continuation of Amos's prophecy against the nation of Israel. And he began this prophecy against the nation of Israel in chapter 3. And so he's continuing at this point to speak of judgment, and he's elaborating about the judgment that he's been announcing. And he's going to now expand his prophecy of judgment on Israel, and he's going to speak concerning the overthrow of Israel. Now when we closed chapter 4, Amos began to tell the people of Israel, we saw that in verse 12, to prepare to meet their God. And so that was making it very clear that God's judgment is inevitable, and that he isn't going to change his mind. What is interesting though, in the first 15 verses here in the book of Amos, chapter 5, in the first 15 verses you find actually a call. It's a call for Israel to return or to turn to God. It's an invitation that we find here in these 15 verses, an invitation for them to seek him, that they might avert the judgment. And yet it's spoken in such a way that though there's an invitation for them to seek him, to return, to seek him and live, though there's that invitation, there's that inevitability that the judgment is still going to fall. You see they deserve punishment, but God is holy and God is just. God will bring justice upon them, but he's also merciful, and thus he offers them an opportunity to seek him and live, though he knows they won't. He's bringing judgment on them, but they have an opportunity to repent. He isn't going to annihilate them as a nation completely. He will continue to encourage them, and he wants them to trust in him, and that is because though God is a righteous judge, he is also compassionate and merciful. In the Old Testament book of Habakkuk, another prophetic book in chapter 3, verse 2, we read, Oh Lord, I have heard your speech and was afraid. Oh Lord, revive your work in the midst of the years. In the midst of the years, make it known. Then he goes on to say something so powerful in wrath. Remember mercy. And so though Lord is merciful, and God is giving them an opportunity, even calling them to seek him and live. And yet the inevitability of that judgment is overruling any opportunities that they may receive. And so as we look at this beginning at verse 1, notice with me how he begins here in chapter 5 by simply saying, hear this word which I take up against you, this lamentation, O house of Israel. Lamentation. When's the last time you used that? Were you speaking to somebody today and said, you know, I don't think so. What is a lamentation? There's a whole book referred to as the Lamentations and it was written as a, the word lamentation is a word that is used to speak of a song of sorrow. When somebody is lamenting or singing a lamentation, the word lamentation speaks of sorrow. There's a word I never used, but it's a word we're all familiar with. Some of us have heard the word used before. It's the word dirge and it's usually associated with a funeral. And so they speak of a funeral and so they speak of a funeral dirge. A funeral dirge is a lamentation. It's a song of sorrow. And it's a song of sorrow that is normally sung at a funeral because it's a time of mourning. And that's how he begins here in verse 1 by speaking of this lamentation. This is a song or a poem of sorrow that is normally associated with a funeral. God is saying to them in a sense, listen to me while I preach at your funeral. Though the judgment he's bringing is still future. Amos is speaking as if it has already passed because it is that certain. As he's giving this message, it would seem that he's saying it in a loud voice that would communicate a broken heart. A loud voice that communicates a broken heart. It's a song of sorrow. It reminds me of Jesus when he was looking at the city of Jerusalem. It's recorded in Luke chapter 13 verse 34, where the Lord Jesus Christ looking at the city of Jerusalem says, oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her. How often I wanted to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. That's the same kind of thing when the Lord speaks out in that way. That loudly to the nation cries out, oh Jerusalem. Well, that's what's taking place here right now. Amos is speaking with a broken heart. He's speaking in a way that's like a dirge. It's like a song of sorrow at a funeral. And he's speaking concerning the fact that God is bringing judgment. And so right from the get go from verse one, he says, I am taking up a lamentation, oh house of Israel. This is something that is intended to awaken you to your need to get right with God. And it's spoken to you with a broken heart. Sometimes you'll see people who will have pickets and they'll be picketing a funeral for a veteran. And it'll say something about that veteran burning in howl, howl. Or there'll be times where you'll see somebody with a picket that will say something like God hates homosexuals and all. And one wonders whether or not those people realize that they are misrepresenting the heart of God. That anger, that meanness of spirit. I've shared this before, but it bears repetition at this moment. The most effective ministers I've ever known are the ones who weep over the lost. Not the ones who are always angry at them. The ones whose heart breaks over the lost. Not the ones who stand up and scream out their sins to their faces. And what we have here is we have a lamentation. It's a lamentation over the house of Israel. A song of sorrow because God is bringing his judgment. He says in verse two, the virgin of Israel has fallen. She will rise no more. She lies forsaken on her land. There's no one to raise her up. Again, notice how it says the virgin of Israel has fallen. It is cast in what is called the past tense. And though this is cast in the past tense, the events that he's speaking of are yet future. It's written in this manner in order to emphasize that the judgment is certain. It is so certain that it's written as if it has already occurred. When you read the book of Isaiah in chapter 46 verses 9 and 10, God gives you some insight into how he will speak something as if it has already occurred because in his mind it already has. And in Isaiah 46, 9 and 10, it says, Remember the former things of old, for I am God. There is no other. I am God. There's none like me declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things that are not yet done saying my counsel shall stand and I will do all my pleasure. So this is written in a manner to emphasize that the judgment is certain. It's written as if it's already occurred. Notice that Israel is spoken of as the virgin. It's spoken of as virgin Israel. Now it's not as if Israel has been faithful to God because in her history she hasn't. What this is is a picture of a woman who is innocent, who has suffered violence, who has been cast down. And it should be a picture that causes your heart to be sad. So when it says the virgin of Israel has fallen, it speaks of a violent falling. It could even refer to a violent death. So the virgin of Israel has fallen. She has fallen and she is greatly wounded. She will rise no more. She lies forsaken on her land and there's no one to raise her up. And so he's pointing out the fact that this woman is suffering greatly and has suffered violence. Now at one time Israel was what would be called the virgin bride of God. But Israel in her history has moved into idolatry. And as she entered into idolatry she became the unfaithful bride, the unfaithful wife of God. The Psalmists in Psalm 1 of 636 through 39 says it like this, they served their idols which became a snare to them. They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons and shed innocent blood. The blood of their sons and daughters whom they sacrificed at the idols of Canaan. And the land was polluted with blood. Thus they were defiled by their own works and played the harlot by their own deeds. And so the virgin Israel is defiled. She has fallen. She is gravely wounded. And so what it is is a picture of the nation of Israel who has been unfaithful to God because of her idolatry. And that brings this nation into the position of being judged by God. So in the Old Testament you have a picture of the nation of Israel as the wife of God who is unfaithful. In a New Testament sense the church is referred to as the bride of Christ. And the nation of Israel was unfaithful. But the bride of Christ is to be faithful. In 2 Corinthians chapter 11 verse 2 Paul speaking of the church said it like this. He said, I'm jealous for you with godly jealousy. I have betrothed you to one husband that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. The Old Testament people were unfaithful to God. The New Testament people have been called to faithfulness and yet there's a great number of people who profess to be Christians who live unfaithfully to the Lord Jesus Christ. And so you would wonder if God could say something similar to the church even today that though you've been set apart for me yet you haven't been faithful to me. Well God is speaking to the nation of Israel and is making it very clear that they have been unfaithful. They have entered in to idolatry. In verse 3 he says, thus says the Lord God, the city that goes out by a thousand shall have a hundred left. And that which goes out by a hundred shall have ten left to the house of Israel. Now Amos had already told Israel prepare to meet your God. It's a picture of the number of people that are taken captive and who are slain. In one sense when it speaks concerning the city that goes out by a thousand shall have a hundred left. It could speak concerning the number of people that are taken captive because Assyria is going to come in and is going to take captive of the people of Israel. It can also refer to the people who are left behind. That would be the ten or the hundred. It can speak of the military forces that are going to be wiped out. The picture he has here is there's going to be a great number of people who are displaced and who shall be slain and so he's saying it's going to be a great onslaught on that nation when Assyria comes in as they do. He goes on in verse 4 and says, thus says the Lord to the house of Israel seek me and live. Seek me. That doesn't mean inquire about me and that doesn't mean look for me because I'm playing cosmic hide and seek. It's not saying look for me as if I'm hidden. What this is is an invitation for people to turn to him. Seek me. One of the big mistakes that I think can be made in the church today making this a Christian application not simply speaking of what's being said concerning the nation of Israel but applying it in a Christian sense is we can make a big mistake when we try to seek things about God. When we try to seek out information about God there are quite a number of Christians who have a great hunger to have information about the Lord. They'll go to conferences and they go to seminars and they take classes and they're constantly learning new things, new facts and all and sometimes what we do is we will replace fellowship with God in terms of personal knowledge of him in his ways with information about God and we're not really seeking him so much as things about him. I don't know if that's making any sense but there are times that we can pursue information and we can forget that true knowledge of God isn't just information, it's fellowship, it's relationship, it's knowing him and his ways and what he's saying here is he's saying I want you to seek me. I want you to have a relationship with me. There are many people who have a relationship with their religion and you know people like that perhaps who are like that. I was like that. I had a relationship with my religion. If you spoke to me concerning Jesus Christ I didn't know much about him because I didn't have fellowship with him. I didn't have a relationship with Jesus Christ. I couldn't speak of Jesus Christ as if I had a personal knowledge of him but I could speak to you concerning my religious beliefs. I could speak to you concerning the things that I had learned in the different classes I had taken as a child. I could speak to you about information but I could not speak to you concerning him on a personal level. What the Lord wants us to do is to seek him. In Isaiah 55 verse 6 it says seek the Lord while he may be found. Call upon him while he is near. Even though he's intent on bringing judgment, he's giving them an opportunity. Seek me and live. I am bringing judgment. But turn from your idols and turn from your wickedness and turn from the things that are distracting you and come to me. Notice what he says in verse 5. But do not seek Bethel nor enter Gilgal nor pass over to Beersheba. For Gilgal shall surely go into captivity and Bethel shall come to nothing. And so we need to remember that Bethel and Gilgal were places that are associated with paganism. And I've been sharing with you as we've gone through Amos that Bethel was a place where an alternate worship site had been built. There was an altar in Bethel that the people would go to and they would make their sacrifices and their offerings there. But they were not sacrifices and offerings that God was recognizing because they were tainted with idolatry. And so he's speaking concerning Bethel. He speaks of Gilgal which is also associated with idolatry. When he says nor pass over to Beersheba, when you look in the Old Testament it speaks concerning the borders of Israel. And it'll say from Dan to Beersheba, from the north to the south. And the point he's making here is he's saying people all the way from the south are coming up to Bethel and they're bringing their various offerings that are in fact not offered to God but to idols. And he's saying so don't seek to do that. Seek me. Do not seek Bethel nor enter Gilgal nor pass over to Beersheba. For Gilgal shall surely go into captivity. Bethel shall come to nothing. Seek the Lord and live lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph and devour it with no one to quench it in Bethel. You who turn justice to wormwood and lay righteousness to rest in the earth. And so he's speaking concerning seeking the Lord. Seek the Lord and live. Repent. Live. Because God is merciful. Now notice how he speaks lest he break out like a fire in the house of Joseph. The house of Joseph is a way of speaking of the northern kingdom Israel. The tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh are the sons of Joseph and they were powerful tribes. So he's saying do not seek Bethel. Seek me. Seek God. Not forms of worship that take you away from me. It's interesting how Jesus in John 17 3 said this is eternal life that they may know you the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. Eternal life consists in more than the abundance of information that I can store in my mind. Eternal life is fellowship with God. It is knowing God. It is having an intimate communication with God. Not simply through my emotions or my imagination. To have a knowledge of God will always be founded on what the Scripture declares concerning him. That's why I worship the Lord in spirit and truth. So there are many who will say I have a relationship with God and who am I to say that they don't. If they have a relationship with God that is based on Scripture I can say that they do. But some will say I have a relationship with God but it is not centered on Scripture and thus at that point I can say well eternal life isn't simply accumulating information or knowing how to answer questions properly. Eternal life is having fellowship with God. It's knowing Him. It's having a relationship with Him. I have somebody on occasion speaks to me and asks me questions related to ministry and all and sometimes it seems that they're expecting that I can give to them a lot of deep understanding about those things that I really can't. But what I have grown to know over the years is I have grown to know something about God and I can say that His Holy Spirit and His Word have become so embedded in my spirit that I have a desire to do those things that I know for certain are true based on what I know Scripture teaches concerning Him. Before when I was a younger man and a young Christian I had an emotional relationship with God, meaning it was almost like my emotions dictated my relationship but over time I began to discover some things. I discovered that I may not understand something at the moment it's occurring but that later on when I wait on the Lord He's going to show Himself strong on my behalf and I began to learn things like patiently waiting for the Lord, trusting the Lord, holding fast to the Lord, not giving up on the Lord. Things that before I was saved if something instantly didn't occur then I would say then who's got the time for this? But when I got saved I began to realize that the Lord sometimes will supply the answer over time and so I would simply wait on Him and I learned to do that. I was speaking to somebody just the other day and they were going through something deep and I shared with them this. I said you know wait on the Lord. You need to trust in the Lord and wait on the Lord and they'll look at you like it's easy for you to say you're not going through this but the fact is I don't have to go through that to say that. Wait on the Lord. Somebody in here right now may be going through something that's so tough, so hard, so difficult. You may be even at the point where you're saying within yourself I'm going to give up. It doesn't seem as if the Lord is going to break through and I can say this to you you need to just wait on the Lord. I remember going to see one of my professors. I had a professor at Biola when I was a young man. I went to school at Biola Christian College at that time. It's now Biola University and his name was Dr. George Moore and I remember speaking to him and sharing with him and I was going through a crisis of faith and I remember speaking to him and I was in my early 20s at that time and I was telling him how I really was getting ready to just give up on my faith that it just didn't seem to be paying off and he began to share with me some things and as he began to minister to me he told me something I've never forgotten. He said you know David, he said you may not know this but the story that you have of your salvation and leading your parents of faith in Christ is very unique. He says God has a plan for your life and he wants to use you if you listen to the voice of the enemy and you don't learn the lessons that God wants to teach you you're never going to be able to help somebody who finds himself in the same situation you're finding yourself in right now. You need to be still and know that he's God. You need to trust in the Lord with all of your heart. Don't lean into your own understanding and all your ways acknowledge him. He will direct your path and I remember at the age of 24 as I was listening to this man who my thought was ancient he was in his 40s. I remember as I was there listening to this old man how that I thought you don't understand what you're talking about. You don't know what you're talking about. Little did I know that he knew exactly what he was talking about. He had experienced similarly things that I had gone through and he was able to say that just trusting the Lord and waiting on the Lord God would show himself strong on my behalf. And one of the things that you learn is you learn what scripture really is. Sometimes we will sometimes we'll memorize the scripture or be familiar with the scripture and be able to quote that scripture but later on we get that kind of knowledge that experiential knowledge of that scripture that we can actually fill it out with human experience and say you know God's word says this and I can tell you that it is true. It's like in John 13 when Jesus is speaking to his men and says to them what I'm doing you don't understand now but you will later on. You will later on. You know there are some things you're going through right now that you don't understand and if you had your way you would eliminate those things from your life you would eliminate those processes from your life. You'd say I don't need these things but I've discovered and you are too and you will too if you haven't yet that God has a way of weaving things into your life that actually creates the fabric of your testimony and your experience with God so that you can look back and you can say that at that moment I was going through that it was most painful most troubling most discouraging but I wouldn't exchange the lessons that I've learned because of those things for anything. The other day when we're celebrating our 35th church anniversary the question was asked of me what would you do differently if you had an opportunity to do things differently and I thought through that question and the answer was one that I that I feel very comfortable with and it was this I said when asked what would you do differently my answer was nothing because the things that I've learned through the decisions that have been made in the past have resulted in who I am now and the knowledge I have of God now and thus I can't improve on what God wanted to do in my life I couldn't change anything because what I've gone through is all going to turn out for the good because the Lord has called me to this and I can say the same thing for you no matter what it is that you're going through no matter how you're struggling no matter how difficult it can be no matter how discouraged you can be the Lord is in charge the Lord is there he doesn't he hasn't moved he hasn't forgotten you he hears your cry he's next to you he's going to deliver you he loves you and so what we need to do is learn to seek him and as we seek him not the things that come from him but as we seek him and comfort ourselves in him then we're going to understand what eternal life really is because eternal life is to know God and Jesus Christ whom he has sent it's fellowship with him and what God is inviting them to is not a religious form it's not sacrifices and ritual religion he's saying you need to seek me because what you're doing he's saying is you're seeking to mix your worship of me with idolatry and what you've created is a hybrid religion that I can't honor so get away from Bethel get away from Gilgal get away from the worship sites that are taking you away from me and seek me and that's what he's saying seek me and live do not seek Bethel nor enter Gilgal nor pass over to Beersheba for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity Bethel shall come to nothing seek the Lord and live lest he break out like fire in the house of joseph and devour it with no one to quench it in Bethel you who turn justice to wormwood and lay righteousness to rest in the earth knowing he says in verse seven you who turn justice to wormwood that's an interesting thing to say lay righteousness to rest when he says you who turn justice to wormwood you've perverted justice you've left the poor and humble without protection wormwood is a bitter plant and so when he speaks you have turned justice to wormwood because wormwood is a bitter plant that it is used to show how justice has become a bitter pill to swallow and when he speaks of laying righteousness to rest righteousness is pictured as helplessly being on the ground with no one supporting righteousness at all and so what has happened is perversion has entered into the nation of Israel and righteousness and justice has been forgotten he says in verse eight he made the Pleiades in Orion he turns the shadow of death into mourning and makes the day dark as night he calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out on the face of the earth the Lord is his name he reigns ruin upon the strong so that fury comes upon the fortress so it says he made Pleiades in Orion that's that's simply a way of expressing that God is all-powerful and that God is capable of keeping the threat that he's making he he speaks of the waters of the sea and and as he's speaking concerning that and I want to point something at how it says he calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out on the face of the earth the Lord is speaking of judgment and when it speaks here calling the waters of the sea that reminds us of Noah's flood how that God brought a flood on the face of the earth in a time when it didn't rain the scripture makes it clear that during the days of Noah there wasn't any rain there was a mist that watered the ground and there are those biblical expositors who speak concerning that there could very well have been what is called a water belt that surrounded the earth and so what the Lord had done is he had perfect conditions on the face of the earth and so man was able to live for a long time but what happens according to the book of Genesis chapter 6 verses 5 through 7 is that that that evil began to to spread throughout and it says in Genesis 6 5 through 7 that Lord saw the wickedness of man was great on the earth and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually the Lord was sorry that he had made man on the earth he was grieved in his heart so the Lord said I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth both man and beast creeping thing and birds of the air for I'm sorry that I have made them and so when it speaks concerning in verse 8 calling the waters of the sea and pouring them out on the face of the earth the Lord is his name and speaking of God's power and it's also a reference a veiled reference to how God brought judgment on the face of the earth how that every thought of man in every intent of his heart was evil continually and of course we can't help but remember the words of Jesus when Jesus said that as this was in the days of Noah so shall it be as prior to the coming of the Lord and what we're seeing right now in the face of the earth is exactly that we're seeing evil and in thoughts of men's hearts are evil only continually so he's speaking of how that God brings judgment and that God is all powerful and God is capable of doing that and he even goes on to say there at the end of verse 8 the Lord is his name and then in verse 9 he reigns ruin upon the strong so that the fury comes upon the fortress in verse 10 they hate the one who rebukes in the gate they are more the one who speaks uprightly therefore because you tread down the poor take grain taxes from him though you have built houses of hue and stone yet you shall not dwell in them you planted pleasant vineyards but you shall not drink wine from them I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins you afflict the just and take bribes you divert the poor from justice at the gate therefore the prudent keeps silent at that time for it's an evil time let's look at that for a moment verse 10 when it says they hate the one who rebukes in the gate but what it says is um the rejecting righteous judgment when you go to israel you'll go to different sites there's one place that we go to it's called cesarea by the sea and this place cesarea we go to a it's a fortress like and as you go to it you'll enter into these gates and as you enter into the gates it's actually you'll walk into the gates in this like an alcove that's very large and so you enter and picture yourself entering into a gate and an alcove there's actually two sets of walls if you will so there's an outer wall and then the other wall and then in between that you have an entrance so you can go straight through that or you can turn to the left and as you turn to the left there's an alcove and the alcove is large and when you go into that alcove you will see that there are bench seats that are in that alcove and that was the front gate and so when you went into cesarea and you had something that needed to be judged you would actually walk into the gate there you go to the left and there's where the judges would be seated and so when you would walk in there the judges were there to adjudicate your case and that's how justice was done in the nation of israel they had places that were called at the gates they would be seated at the gates so when it speaks concerning the one at the gate they hate the one who rebukes in the gate it's saying they hate justice they hate the judges who are not judging on their behalf and making them or making their cases winning their cases or giving their cases over to them and so the point he's making is they hate the one who rebukes in the gate they abhor the one who speaks uprightly they do not like the righteous judge they hate the ones who are just and honorable they don't like justice they don't want justice when it is going against them and that's what he's saying judgment is going to come because these are people who really don't want it and so judgment is going to come and they get angry at the one who speaks uprightly even today and I have to be careful because I don't want to be misunderstood or say something that doesn't make sense to you I've already spent 30 minutes doing that and I don't want to continue it I always assume and maybe maybe I shouldn't I don't know I was speaking to somebody today about this I said well maybe I shouldn't assume this but let me assume it anyway I'll continue assuming it by saying this listen I'm just going to take a moment so you might relax when I first got saved when I first got saved it was important for me and this is part of me this is who I am as a pastor and you'll see this as I teach in the way that I come off when I'm speaking I was looking for truth and thus I found truth in Jesus Christ because he is the way the truth and the life so I discovered that he is truth his words are true and thus I was able to put all my trust in him now that doesn't mean I understood everything because I don't even to this day understand everything of course I don't I don't know everything I won't know until I'm in heaven and then I will know even as I am known but I did start out with one thing and not everybody does this and I didn't understand that I still don't but I really believe that there is a God that's one thing that's how I got saved too I believe that God manifested himself through Jesus Christ because that's what the Bible teaches that God became flesh and dwelt amongst us and so I believe that there is a God that God manifested himself and I also believe in a God that is so great that his word can be preserved so I've never had a problem believing that the Bible is the word of God I haven't had that problem my biggest problem is trying to understand it trying to study it and to be able to put it into practice that's my biggest problem but do I believe it's God's word absolutely I have no doubt in my mind this word is God's word it isn't an invention of man it wasn't created by some philosopher this is inspired by God's holy spirit and he moved righteous men to pen these words so that you and I would have his love letter communicated to us so we would know his ways I know that I could be wrong when I look at only nature so I need something beyond nature I need revelation and God gave to me conscience which gives to me the ability to know that some things are right and some things are wrong God gave to me creation which gives me the ability to know that there's something greater than myself because every house is built by some man but he who built all things is God so if I can believe the first few words of the Bible in the beginning God I can believe the rest of it the real problem is is people don't believe the first few words but if you believe in the beginning God then the rest is a piece of cake if you don't believe that then nothing I say is ever going to convince you otherwise so I stepped into my Christian faith by believing in the beginning God now with that stated that as my foundation the most important thing for me is to seek him and live that was my most important and that still is my most important quest to seek the Lord to understand his ways to have fellowship with God so I assume that every Christian thinks that way but they don't because sometimes when something is said they disagree with they would just assume discount discount what that word says because it bothers them to hear it and they don't want to believe it for me it's not the things that I don't understand that causes me problems it's the things that I do understand because that puts me in a position of having to either seek the Lord to obey or to deal with the rebellious spirit and so that's been my Christian walk for 40 some years now so God's word is true God's word is true and I need to believe it and I need to live by it and I need to apply it and I love his blessings but I also see that he promises buffettings the Lord chastens those whom he loves therefore he says be zealous and repent and so I know that God even when he's spanking me which he does quite often even when he's spanking me is chastening me so that I might be conformed to the image of the Son Jesus Christ how do I know that I know that because the word of God says that now here's the problem is that even in the church today when people and I don't know how to say this without it coming off wrong I really struggle with trying to learn how to communicate this it seems to me that many who go to church are of the same mindset that many in Israel were that day when they said speak to a smooth speak to a smooth things speak to us deceitful things say things to make us feel better about ourselves but please when you go through the whole counsel of God listen you you you get so blessed because God says these are the things I have for you and you get so convicted because he says but this is how I want you to be and those things have to connect and what happened in the nation of Israel is the nation of Israel didn't want to know God and didn't want to know his ways they wanted the appearance of being righteous they went to places like Bethel Bethel being a site where they offered sacrifices they went to Bethel they went into Gilgall from as far south as Bersheba they went to different places to make their sacrifices and all but when the people at the gates when the judges would speak if they did when they would speak righteously and it opposed the way that they thought they were upset at them that happens in the church today that happens in the church today if something is said that people don't like they get angry and oh how could you where's your love it's the same kind of spirit that was in the nation of Israel it is love when God corrects you he loves you and when I'm corrected does he correct me yes yes when he corrects me it's a love because he wants me to please him and to be blessed but they didn't want that and that's what he's saying in verse 10 they hate the one who rebukes in the gate they abhor the one who speaks uprightly they don't want to hear it it's not something they want to hear they hate being corrected and in reality the rebelling against righteousness it says it says in Proverbs 9 verse 8 do not correct a scoffer lest he hate you rebuk a wise man and he will love you when you rebuke a scoffer somebody who doesn't want to hear correction they hate you for it don't they when you say you know I'm sorry man I I I I can you know you know you'll say something and uh who gave you the right to judge but I'm not judging you I'm not judging you rebuke a scoffer and they hate you rebuke a wise man and they'll love you why because it helps them to be wiser and helps them to be in the place of being blessed Proverbs 15 12 a scoffer does not love one who reproves him and he will not go to the wise and that's what he's speaking about in verse 11 he says therefore because you tread down the poor and take grain taxes from him though you have built houses of hewnstone yet you shall not dwell in them you have planted pleasant vineyards but you shall not drink wine from them you have used the poor to become rich and as a result of it built luxurious estates for yourselves it's like what it says in Isaiah 123 where it says your princes are rebellious and companions of thieves everyone loves bribes and follows after rewards they do not defend the fatherless nor cause nor does the cause of the widow come before them he's saying your riches will not safeguard you from judgment and your riches do not make life worth living well that goes against the grain riches don't make life worth living are you kidding me that's the whole purpose of being alive isn't it to be rich but the bible in first Timothy 6 10 says the love of money is at the root of all kinds of evil some people craving money have wandered from the faith and pierce themselves with many sorrows he goes on in verse 12 and he says i know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins you afflict the just and take bribes you divert the poor from justice at the gate therefore the prudent keeps silent at that time for it is an evil time you have been using your power to make yourself rich when you look in the book of Micah which was written right around the same time as the book of Amos in Micah chapter 2 verse 2 it says they covet fields and take them by violence also houses and seize them so they oppress a man and his house a man and his inheritance in chapter 6 of Micah verses 12 through 15 it says the rich among you have become wealthy through extortion and violence your citizens are so used to lying that their tongues can no longer tell the truth therefore i will wound you i will bring it to ruin for all your sins you will eat but never have enough your hunger pangs and emptiness will bring you to ruin for all your sins your hunger pangs and emptiness will still remain and though you try to save your money it will come to nothing in the end you will save a little but i will give it to those who conquer you you will plant crops but not harvest them you will press your olives but not get enough oil to anoint yourself you will trample the grapes but get no juice to make your wine he's saying you know you're oppressing the poor and you're getting rich off them but you need to understand that the beautiful houses that you have in your palaces those places in Samaria that you're so proud of they're going to be destroyed and ultimately ultimately they're going to become ruins in verse 13 he says therefore the prudent keep silent at that time it's an evil time the man of that day knew he could get no justice so he kept quiet because it was the wise thing to do protesting and making an issue would have done him no good so what are you to do well verse 14 seek good and not evil that you may live so the lord god of hosts will be with you as you have spoken hate evil and love good establish justice in the gate it may be that the lord god of hosts will be gracious to the remnant of joseph seek good hate evil establish justice because these are all evidences of genuine repentance genuine repentance always results in transformed lives genuine repentance the word repentance in the original language in the greek is a word metanoia and the word metanoia speaks literally of a change of mind and repentance is a change of mind concerning the way that i'm living especially as it pertains to my relationship with god and so when i hear the word of god and the word of god declares certain things and i come to a place of conviction and i say what god's word says is not what i do then it's up to me at that point to respond in faith by repenting and as i repent i'm simply changing my mind concerning the things that i hold fast to and i'm agreeing with what god says is true when that happens and here's a key there will always be a transformed life there are there are people who answer every invitation that's given in church every week they come forward every week they're weeping over something every week they raise their hand because every week they stayed in the same sin that they raised their hand last week to be free from they didn't really repent what they felt perhaps it was remorse or maybe they felt regret they felt bad because they had done something or perhaps even bad because they'd been caught doing something i can't tell you the amount of people over the years i've spoken to who have asked for prayer because they were reaping the consequences of poor choices i remember a young woman who approached me many years ago over 30 plus years ago now who approached me and said can you pray for me and i said of course what should i pray for she said i had uh i fornicated is what she said i had sex with a guy she said and um and i think i'm pregnant and i still remember looking at her saying and what do you want me to pray for what do you want me to pray for i said are you asking me to pray that this child that you may be carrying right now is going to be miraculously removed from your womb what are you asking me to pray for because in essence what she was asking for at that moment was for God to somehow remove the consequence of her sin the fact is if you sow to the flesh from the flesh you reap corruption that's what happens you can't pray yourself out of the situation that you found yourself in that you placed yourself in through choices you made what you do is you learn lessons through that you get right with God and move on in his grace that's how it works but you can't be just saying well let's just remove it as if it didn't happen the fact of the matter is your sin will be forgiven but the repercussions can continue for a lifetime keep that in mind i remember the story of a man who and this was many years ago when when aids was just breaking out people were beginning to discover this hiv and all now that he went out and went to a bar he met a woman and took her to a hotel spent the night woke up the next morning in bed she had been with him the night before but she was gone he got up he walked into the bathroom and he looked at the mirror and she had written in her lipstick welcome to the world of aids what do you do what do you do you reap the consequences that's what happens and a lot of times the christians think god has mad at me because he hasn't removed this the fact is no what is happening is you're reaping you sowed to the flesh from the flesh you're reaping corruption now that doesn't mean that you're going to have to remain in that state that doesn't mean that god can't take that those ashes and give you beauty for them that doesn't mean that at all god can take the most evil decisions i've ever made and because i've repented and sought him and i've and i've said god be merciful to me he can transform those ashes into beauty and i've seen him do that but that isn't necessarily what he wants to do he wants us to walk in such a way that we don't have those ashes in the first place he wants us to walk in such a way that he can keep his hand on us and bless us but repentance when you really repent there's going to be some obvious signs that you did you know in the book of luke in chapter three and john the baptist was ministering there and and as he was ministering in chapter three verse 10 through 14 it says the crowd asked what should we do and john replied if you have two coats give one to the poor if you have food share it with those who are hungry even corrupt tax collectors came to be baptized and asked teacher what should we do show your honesty he replied make sure you collect no more taxes than the roman government requires you to what should we do ask some soldiers john replied don't extort money don't accuse people of things you know they didn't do be content with your pay so true repentance is always accompanied by a changed life so seek good he says hate evil establish justice because these are evidences of real repentance in verse 16 therefore the lord god of hosts lord says this there shall be wailing in all the streets they shall say in all the highways alas alas they shall call the farmer to mourning skilled lamentors to wailing in all vineyards there shall be wailing for i will pass through you says the lord that's an interesting couple of verses he's saying there's going to be so much pain and mourning that and this is something foreign to us but i'll i'll remind you of something in a moment this is foreign to us but there's going to be so much pain and mourning that the non-professional mourners are going to be there mourning along with those who are paid to mourn you may find this interesting perhaps you already know this but during the time of christ and even before they actually had professional mourners people who as a job would go to funerals and cry and so you see that in the case of jairus's daughter when jesus walks in and they say to him that the little girl is dead and he says she's not dead she's only sleeping and and the scripture says they laughed him to scorn now these were people that that it was described just before the who were wailing and mourning and they were crying out loud but the reason that they could stop crying and start laughing is because they were not genuine mourners at all they were paid to cry they would actually pay people to cry because they wanted people to show how important this person was who died and thus even during the time of amus they had these people who were professional mourners and it's simply saying here it's saying there's going to be wailing in the streets and there's not going to be enough of the paid professionals and so farmers are going to be wailing and people who are not doing that for a living they're going to be mourning also it says in verse 17 in all the vineyards there shall be wailing because i'm going to pass through god saying i'm going to pass through in judgment even as i did that night in egypt during Passover you're going to be led away to your doom because death will touch everyone woe to you who desire the day of the lord for what good is the day of the lord to you it will be darkness and not light it will be as though a man fled from a lion and a bear met him or as though he went into the house leaned his hand on the wall and a serpent bit him is not the day of the lord darkness and not light is it not very dark with no brightness in it i hate i despise your feast days i do not savor your sacred assemblies though you offer me burnt offerings and your grain offerings i will not accept them nor will i regard your fattened peace offerings take away from me the noise of your songs i will not hear the melody of your stringed instruments but let justice run down like water righteousness like a mighty stream did you offer me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness 40 years old house of israel you also carried zakut your king and tune your idols the star of your gods which you made for yourselves therefore i will send you into captivity beyond Damascus says the lord whose name is the god of hosts and so basically in wrapping up notice what he says in verse 18 woe to you who desire the day of the lord for what good is the day of the lord to you they didn't understand how severe this time called the day of the lord was to be it may be that they thought that the day of the lord to be when god revealed himself as their help they believed that he would intervene on the behalf and bring in a time of celebration for the nation they looked forward to god making israel the center of the world and the heathens would be judged but amos was saying israel herself is going to be judged because of her sin and he talks about the escalating how it's going to be it's going to be one calamity after another it will be that israel will think that it's safe when in fact it's just going to be in danger after danger after danger now when it speaks concerning the day of the lord is speaking concerning a period of time that we actually see consummated in the book of revelation somebody said the entire book of revelation might be interpreted as an extended commentary and revelation regarding this very passage in amos the theme of revelation is the judgment of the great day and all of the figures that describe the onset of that occasion are those depicting unalloyed terror slaughter destruction and sorrow for the near total family of atom who may live at the time it occurs and so they appear to have had this attitude that the day of the lord would be a great day for the nation of israel because all of their enemies would be judged and israel would be exalted but he's saying why are you asking for the day of the lord you don't understand what it's going to be it's going to be a time of sorrow and judgment it'll be escalating judgments one judgment after another so when you read revelation chapter 6 through 19 you see it clearly portrayed for what it is now he says in verses 21 through 24 i despise your feast days in other words your ritual religion is something that i totally reject i reject your ritual observance of feast days your sacred assemblies your offerings and even your songs he said these are the things that people can do that are religious on the outside but don't come from hearts that are close to god i pray for our church i don't know how to say this i've been in a i don't know how to say this mood tonight haven't i i don't know how to say this but as i'm about to close i'll say it this way i wonder i'm going to be open with you forgive me i'm at the point in my ministry i've been serving the lord as a teacher of the word since 1973 that's that's pretty pretty long time two-thirds of my life i'm getting to the point in my life where i'm beginning to wonder how long the lord would have me continue doing what i'm doing i don't know how long god has called me to be here i don't know i have no plans to get up and leave tomorrow but i don't know perhaps lord would have me i don't know i want to be completely open to him and i watch this church and i watched this the the the spiritual life of this church and i have a great concern for this church as a matter of fact serving this church has been my life for 35 plus years now and i wonder when i was a young man when this church first began when i was in my early 30s i used to speak with the same kind of passion that i speak with now it isn't different if you heard some of the early teachings when i was 35 years old you would hear the same kind of fire coming out of my heart then that you hear now and i used to say this and may some of you perhaps were here at in those earlier days i know some are here with us who have been and you may remember how i would say you know as a young man speaking like i do people assume that to be passion they say well that's a passionate young man he's got passion in his heart for the things of the lord and it stirs our heart i used to tell the church that but i said as i grow older you're going to see me as a cranky old man and you're going to miss that you're going to start thinking oh you know pastor david just mad and frustrated he's getting old and that isn't the case at all what has happened in my life and i'm saying this honestly before you as i'm about to close is this is i have a greater concern for the body of christ now than i ever have had because i am watching people getting deceived by false teachers and false promises and they love it that way i don't want to go into naming names right now that's not what my point is but i can tell you some of the more popular people that many of you have know if i mentioned their names you would say oh yeah that's a great teacher and i would say to you they're not teaching the truth they're kind of with personality and looks and caught up with visions and and ways to get money out of your pocket so they can live in nice homes you don't understand but if i say that then i get people mad so i have to find ways to say it gently and so what i've tried to do up to this point is i've tried to say listen as i'm growing older i'm growing to love the lord more and i'm trying to communicate to you the things that matter because one of these days i won't be in this pulpit and i know it and i want you to know that you had a pastor who loved you and told you the truth and it's hard for me sometimes to not teach it it is it's it's hard because one day and it isn't that long the lord will move me out of this ministry and i know that and i don't want to leave something behind that isn't worth preserving and that's why the passion that i have i'm actually masking it i'm actually pushing it down i'm tamping it down because my concern is so great it will be misunderstood because what i'm seeing right now as a man who's been with the lord for 45 almost 46 years has caused my heart great concern for the body of christ great concern because people many by the multiple thousands are being ripped off by charlatans by charlatans and i'm not saying that these people who who are giving these messages are intentionally evil people i'm simply saying that they're not in god's word and they're not teaching the word of god and we are living in the last days and i believe that god is moving men to have a prophetic voice in these dark days i believe that and the message is not being heard is not being heard because people are walking out of church saying i don't feel good about myself today but that's not the purpose of knowing god it's so that you may feel good about him it isn't about us it's about him joel ostin's wife joel ostin's wife victoria said that worship is about you it isn't about you it's about jesus jesus died on a cross for me that's what it is that's what it is so as long as i'm in the pulpit if you guys keep coming back i'm not changing i i want you to know the things of the lord i do and god is saying i don't want ritual religion i want relationship i want you to know what repentance is so i can bless you but you won't listen and because you won't listen i'm going to have to bring judgment on you and so he finally says this he says let justice run down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream let justice run down like water let it be done let the poor and oppressed be properly cared for don't take advantage of them any longer and righteousness is supposed to be like a like a mighty stream return to truly observing and keeping god's commands he says did you offer me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness 40 years old house of israel in other words it's not that you didn't offer sacrifices but as the sacrifices you were offering were tainted by idolatry he speaks of sikut sikut was another name for the the the god mole the the name kiyun is another name for refan which was the planet saturn and it referred to astrology you have offered your sacrifices mixed with idols you have a history of mixing true faith with idolatry and he's making it clear that when when they did that genuine worship did not exist he's saying i am the one god and i demand worship to be given to me that is not tainted it mattered then and it matters now and so he says finally i will send you into captivity assyria came and deported them and even though this occurred israel continued mixing religion even after assyria came and deported them in 722 bc assyria left a remnant of jews behind and brought in several nations that brought their gods and their gods were mixed with the god of israel and they created the samaritan religion a religion that was a mixture of paganism and he grew revelation and that's why when jesus had that interesting conversation with the woman of the well of samaria when she wanted to argue religion she said you say you're supposed to worship in jesus but our fathers say we worship on this mountain jesus said what you worship you don't understand true religion he said has come from god and has practiced in the nation of israel because the samaritans even to the time of christ continued to mix paganism with god's truth and god is saying to them you cannot worship false gods and me simultaneously even as josh was said to the nation of israel this day you must choose who you're going to serve god still says that to this day