July 12, 2015 Text: Amos 7:7-15
Dear Friends in Christ,
Sometimes in sermon preparation you get what I like to call a layup, a pitch right down the middle, a tap-in birdie. Last week and this week in our Old Testament lessons we have had words from our Lord that have been right in the sweet spot. Last Sunday it was Ezekiel and his taking the word of the Lord to the rebellious Israelites. Today it is the prophet Amos and a similar message. It is no coincidence that we would have these readings in the Sundays following a court ruling that goes against “Thus says the Lord God.” My fellow Pastors and I mentioned at this week’s convention how the Lord placed these readings on a tee in light of what is swirling around us.
Last Sabbath we were “Up Against It.” Today we want to focus in on one of our thoughts. We feel that life is coming at us at warp speed and we are being run over. We long for the days of old and for the times to be “like when I was a kid.” We look at the days and figure that the Lord has to be returning soon. It cannot go on like this. These are the same thoughts of Amos and his contemporaries. The plumb line is out of whack, the building is going to fall, the culture will crash to the earth. We get these crazy notions in our head that it has never been this bad. Well, yes, it has. Over and over again. Check your history and it will become clear. Our theme then will be a statement and a question.
“THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN’ – OR ARE THEY?”
The Lord always has a plan even if we don’t always understand it. In our text a herdsman and dresser of sycamore figs named Amos would execute this plan. “Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, ‘Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to bear all his words.’ For thus Amos has said, ‘Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel must go into exile away from his land.’” (vs. 10-11)
Simply put, God sent Amos to speak his Word – without compromise – to address the gross idolatry of His people. He sent Amos to preach repentance and to draw them to God’s love. The statement by Amaziah stands out, “The land is not able to bear all his words.” You see, the land cannot bear the Word of God. It can’t stand the truth. The Times They Are A-Changin’ – Or Are They?
“And Amaziah said to Amos, ‘O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, and eat bread there, and prophesy there, but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom.’” (vs. 12-13)
Amaziah does not give a sound refutation of God’s Word spoken by Amos. There is nothing to show that Amos had misrepresented God. Amos is branded a hatemonger. A troublemaker. A narrow-minded man of God who doesn’t understand how humans are “supposed” to think – according to humans. He is in the wrong place at the wrong time doing what is not accepted by social convention. The Times They Are A Changin’ – Or Are They?
The way it was for the church at the time of Amos is the way it is for the church today. For all the changes we see, in so many ways nothing changes at all. And so, as we consider the hatred of God’s Word down through the centuries, what do we do?
“For God so loved the world.” I pray you and I know those words well. The truth of that has not changed since Jesus spoke it. The truth of it is rooted in Genesis 3:15, the first promise of the Christ. In spite of its rebellion and anger and hatred of God’s Law, He loved the world – you and me and all those who think they have changed our society for the better – so much that He gave his One and Only Son to bear the punishment and payment for every sin of every human. “Whoever believes will not perish but have eternal life.”
C.S. Lewis said something that is appropriate here. “We learn, on the one hand, that we cannot trust ourselves even in our best moments, and, on the other, that we need not despair even in our worst, for our failures are forgiven. The only fatal thing is to sit down content with anything less than perfection.”
Lewis realized the battle going inside our souls. We struggle and strive to seek God’s will and ways. Though sin is still very much in us and we fail miserably, the battle against our sin doesn’t cease until the grave. And though we fail daily, God daily forgives our sin for the sake of Jesus.
The world doesn’t like that message because it forces the world to humble itself and confess its sin. That’s a real affront to human self-righteousness. But it doesn’t make any difference. It is still the message entrusted to us, regardless of how it’s received. And there is no way to soften its impact without compromising it.
Yes, we get caught up in lots of things on a daily basis. Nothing though is more important than how the Love of God in Christ Jesus touches our lives, helps and gives us strength in times of challenges and is preparing us for our eventual end here. There are lots of things about people we know and love and even those we don’t care for that are momentarily important, but none more important than the fact that when they cease to breathe, they will walk into eternal bliss or eternal damnation. No door will open and bring them back. There are no second chances. We need to pray on that each day as the Holy Spirit works through His means.
Even as things seem to progress and change the Word of our Lord and His love for us will never change. What a comfort and blessing for you and I.
Amen.