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Amos 3:1-6 Hear this word that the LORD hath spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying, [2] You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities. [3] Can two walk together, except they be agreed? [4] Will a lion roar in the forest, when he hath no prey? will a young lion cry out of his den, if he have taken nothing? [5] Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth, where no gin is for him? shall one take up a snare from the earth, and have taken nothing at all? [6] Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?

“Let’s go camping,” the Great Detective Sherlock Holmes says to his friend Dr. Watson one day. “Jolly good!” replies Watson. So the two pack up their gear, head into the woods, set up their tent and by nightfall, are sound asleep. Hours later, Dr. Watson is awakened by a nudge from his friend Sherlock. “Dr. Watson, Look up! What do you see?” Awakened from a deep sleep his friend was annoyed. “I see the sky, full of stars.” Sherlock Holmes said “What does that tell you?” Dr Watson thinks for a moment then replies, “Well, given the thousands of stars, it’s improbable that ours is the only planet capable of sustaining life. Therefore, other beings like ourselves are likely out there somewhere, looking back at us. Is that what it means?” Holmes looks at his over educated friend. “No, you ninny! It means someone has stolen our tent!”

When bad things happen our response should be to stop, to consider, then to go beyond ourselves and LOOK UP. To turn to – not against but to – the Creator and Lover of our souls. God loves His Children. He said of His children through the Prophet Isaiah:

Isaiah 49:15-16 Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. 16 Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.

It is popular among young Millennial women today to get a tattoo of her child’s name and footprint on their bodies, usually on the tops of their own feet. God has engraved us on the palms of His hands and on the soles of His feet – not with ink and pens, but with nails.

The Father sent the Son to the Cross. The Son allowed Himself to be humiliated and harmed so that God could redeem us. We are all offered salvation because God stooped. He stooped from Heaven to earth. He came from a Throne to a Manger.

God gave Himself for you and for me. God wants us to walk with Him. But He must lead in this waltz. He must lead in the dance of life.

1 Walking Is A Beautiful Picture Of Salvation. God asks in verse 3:

Can Two Walk Together Except They Be Agreed?

A person is saved to walk with God. A people are saved to walk with God. Salvation is more than fire insurance for eternity … it is a way of life. Our passage starts …

Amos 3:1 Hear this word that the LORD hath spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt ….

“Egypt” is an Old Testament picture of the unbelieving world, and “Israel” a beautiful picture of God’s Family of Faith. Israel was both lost and enslaved in the midst of Egypt. Israel cried out to God – and God heard their cry. God raised up a man named Moses – a humble man – to preach the word of salvation to His people. Nine times God sent Moses to Pharaoh – the King of Egypt – the King of the World – to demand “let My people go so they can worship Me” (Exodus 9:1 et al). Nine times Pharaoh refused to release God’s people.

The fingers of the world will hold on to you, draw on you, try to enslave you if it can. The devil does not want to release the lost soul. When the preacher preaches “repent” the evil whispers “repent from what? You are not that bad. God will love you whether you follow Him or not. Stay the course. Walk with me. Follow me. It’s your life, and I will support your right to it.” Pharaoh hardened his heart against God but refused to let the people go.

But then God told His people to take a Lamb without spot or blemish. The Lamb was to be killed, and God said:

Exodus 12:13 (NKJV) Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

Death would come to every household who refused to do as God said. Those who heard God and followed His instruction would be saved from death. But those who heard but did not do as He said would die. And those who refused to hear would die. Can two walk together except they be agreed?

• Some might say “Blood of the Lamb? Why can’t I use the Blood of the Bullock, or the Blood of the Goat? Why must it be the Blood of the Lamb? Because God said it was to be the Blood of the Lamb. “When I see THE Blood I will pass over you”. God was looking to see what Blood was shed. If it was not as He said there could be no agreement. Can two walk together except they be agreed?
  

• Some might say “I have a crippled lamb, a lamb that is blemished. Why can I not use that Lamb?” It might be a lamb, but is it THE Lamb OF GOD, the Lamb that God specified? God said in …

  Exodus 12:5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year.

  “It SHALL BE”. Following God is not optional. Can two walk together except they be agreed? Pharaoh saw obedience to God as optional because he set himself on the throne of his life. If you wish to walk with God, if you wish to be saved, then you must heed His Word. His Word is a lamp unto my feet, a light into my path (Psalm 119:105).
  

• Yet some might say “I will sacrifice the Lamb without spot or blemish, but why must I do it at a specific time? Why must it be the evening of the 14^th? Why not tomorrow?” Again God says “Can two walk together except they be agreed?” The Scripture says:

  2 Corinthians 6:2 (NLT) … At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you. Indeed, the “right time” is now. Today is the day of salvation.

Oh Precious Ones, how many have been eternally lost because they put off what God said to do today? So many have said “I will wait for another time”. But the wise person is like the Philippian Jailer who, reprieved from death, fell on bended knee before the Apostles and cried out:

Sirs, what must I do to be saved?

and when he was told “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house” (Acts 16:31) he did not debate with neither God nor man. “Can two walk together except they be agreed?” God has set the standard. Kill the Lamb. Hide under the Blood. Believe on the Crucified and Risen Savior and YOU SHALL LIVE.

2 If We Want To Walk With God Then We Must Acknowledge That God’s Way Is Always The Right Way. We may not understand why God directs as He does, but God is always right. There is no higher Authority than God. There is no Supreme Court to appeal to – He is Supreme and Absolute. What He has said is true and stands forever. The world despises this!

In this Post Modern Super Tolerant Me First America no one wants to believe that there is a standard. When I was a young boy and ran a race, the one who crossed the finish line FIRST got the FIRST PLACE ribbon. The ones who crossed afterwards were recognized, but given no ribbon. Child Psychologists have determined from the time of Dr Spock that such things are damaging to the esteem of the child. So today the race is run, but all the children are given prizes. I watched my grandchild Micah playing on his Oriels team while we were on vacation. Children were allowed unlimited swings at the ball – three strikes were not out. When they were unsuccessful at hitting the thrown ball then it was placed on a stand where the child could strike at it repeatedly until it was hit. When the children ran the bases if the opposing team tagged them with the ball or got to the base before the runner did it was NOT an out. It was ignored. Some would say that they were young kids just learning the game …. but if there is no standard nor any penalty then it is not a game, it is just confusion.

God’s Way is not confusion.

1 Corinthians 14:33 Our God is not the Author of confusion, but of peace.

Daniel 9:8 O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee.

God asks seven questions in our text today. God always asks good questions. The questions God asks us are not designed to give HIM information, but to give US information –to teach us truths that will benefit us in life.

When God asked Adam “Where are you?” it was not because He wanted to know where Adam was (for God knows everything – even our thoughts). It was because He wanted ADAM to examine where he was and how he got from blessing to cursing.

Listen to me, Beloved. God wants to bless us. He wants to love us black and blue. But two cannot walk together except they be agreed. God illustrates the depth of this first question with three pairs of questions.

a The First Pair Of Questions Ask:

Amos 3:4 Will a lion roar in the forest, when he hath no prey?
will a young lion cry out of his den, if he have taken nothing?

No lion “walks” with it’s prey. When a lion roars it is because it has caught and is about to eat it’s meal. That “Unhappy Meal” might walk INSIDE of the lion, but there is absolutely NO AGREEMENT between the two.

God’s Word to His people is not to be taken as the roar of the Lion …. but it is to be taken seriously. The Lion of Judah does not want to devour or make merchandise of His people. God loves His people.

Zephaniah 3:17 – The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.

God looks down over His people and cherishes them. When I was a young father I would often hold my babies in my arms and sing over them, kissing them and getting their sugar. Oh how I loved them and love them still. I am way inferior to God! He loves us, not as an Unhappy Meal but as His Beloved. Ron Edmondson wrote:

“The God of the universe, the same God who paints a sunset, shapes a mountain and plans the waves at the beach, has chosen to love us, not because of who we are, but because of who He is. Our role in this is to BE-LOVED.”

We are all loved of God. But God’s people by faith in Christ are especially loved. God said:

Proverbs 8:17 I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.

God loves us – but if we reject His leading and His love then we cannot expect to be blessed. The prey is not blessed when the Lion finds it. God does not wish to consume us … but if we are His He does not want us to be consumed of sin and Satan either!

b The Second Pair Of Questions Ask:

Amos 3:5 Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth, where no gin is for him?
shall one take up a snare from the earth, and have taken nothing at all?

The first pair of questions speaks of Lions and their Prey. The second set of questions speaks of Fowlers who trap birds for a living. A Fowler will put a snare on the earth and leave it there until he has caught the birds he wanted to keep. Some say that God is like a Fowler who snares man for profit, and lays snares to trap us. This is absolutely not true.

God’s commandments are not a snare – they are God’s Care.

Heading into many small towns are things called speed traps. Speed traps exist to capture and fine people. Speed have nothing to do with right or wrong … it is just a local government’s way of dishonestly but legally raising revenue. The speed limit will be posted 55 mph, but the speed trap will have an overgrown sign or a sign hidden in a blind curve with 35 mph on it – and a sheriff directly behind it. That is dishonest.

God has NEVER been dishonest with His people. The people He saves are people who are supposed to willingly walk with Him. “Can two walk together except they be agreed?”. God is very clear in His Word that His people are to …

Deuteronomy 5:33 (NIV) Walk in obedience to all that the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess.

There is no blessing to anyone who will not follow God.
God is not diminished if we do not follow Him … we are diminished.

When God led Israel out of Egypt they were to follow God both night and day. Following God they passed through the Red Sea as if on dry land. But when God’s people got to the Jordan and refused to follow His Word the Lord let them wander in the wilderness for forty years.

Malachi 2:2 (NIV) If you do not listen, and if you do not resolve to honor my name,” says the Lord Almighty, “I will send a curse on you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have already cursed them, because you have not resolved to honor me.

Saved and blessed to enter the Family of God every believer is to be a Christ Follower, a Doer of His Word. Jesus said:

1 John 5:3 …. this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.

God’s Commandments are not a snare nor are they burdensome to His Children. (John 6:63) God said “the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life”. God’s Words are not a snare. They are the words of a loving Father to His cherished Children. We are called to a life of obedience if we belong to God.

c The Third Pair Of Questions Ask:

Amos 3:6 Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?

When 9-11 hit our nation people began to talk about God. Some people stated that 9-11 was a result of our unwillingness as a nation to repent and follow God. There was a very large debate in the media, and many among Christianity began to mock one another. Some said:

A God of Love would never allow such a thing to happen!

And others,

These attacks came because we as a nation have turned from God.

R Albert Mohler Jr, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky stated “There is no doubt that America has accommodated itself to so many sins that we should always fear God’s judgment and expect that in due time that judgment will come. But we ought to be very careful about pointing to any circumstance or any specific tragedy and say that this thing has happened because this is God’s direct punishment.”

What did God say in Amos? Did He point to the sinners of the nation and declare that they were the reason that judgment was coming? No, He told His people saved by Grace:

Amos 3:2 You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.

Judgment was coming on the nation because God’s people – the ones of whom He said “you only have I known” – because His people were not being His people. God went on to ask the two questions:

Shall a trumpet be blown in the city and the people not be afraid?

When I was stationed in Korea and heard the air raid sirens go off my heart beat faster. That air raid siren was blowing because the enemy were positioning themselves for an attack. What would happen? Would I be shot? Was I where I needed to be with the Lord. And WHY are the enemy positioning themselves? Hence the second question:

shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?

Shall trials and tribulations come to a Church, a Community, or a Country, and God had NOTHING to do with it? No Beloved – God is in control. The Lord declares:

Isaiah 45:7 (NIV) I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the LORD, do all these things.

Proverbs 16:4 HCSB The LORD has prepared everything for His purpose— even the wicked for the day of disaster.

It is not God’s way to indiscriminately destroy people. I heard one preacher say “God in His love always wills what is best for us. In His wisdom He always knows what is best, and in His sovereignty He has the power to bring it about.” God is concerned less about our temporal and more about our eternity. This physical life that we now inhabit is but a tiny part of the life that each and every one of us has in store.

Are you prepared for eternity? Are you resting in the everlasting arms of God?

When tragedy happens the Bible tells us that God is the One Who either ALLOWED it or CREATED it. And all trials …. ALL of them, from 9-11 to the Holocaust and even to personal and private tragedy … all are under the purview of God. The Bible says:

Lamentations 3: 37-38 (NLT) Who can speak and have it happen if the Lord has not decreed it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both calamities and good things come?

Trials make us stop and think. The God of the Bible is the same God Who:

• Sent Israel to march around Jericho for 7 days, causing the walls of that city to fall and the inhabitants to die. Why seven days? I submit that it was to give the inhabitants time to REPENT and turn to the Creator of all.

• Had Noah preach for 120 years before flooding the entire earth, killing all but 8 souls. Why? Why 120 years? I submit that it was to give the inhabitants time to REPENT and turn to the Creator of all.

• Had Jonah, the reluctant prophet, go to Ninevah and preach “In forty days Ninevah will be destroyed!” Why 40 days? I submit that it was to give the inhabitants time to REPENT and turn to the Creator of all.

God told His people (Amos 3:11) “An adversary there shall be even round about the land; and he shall bring down thy strength from thee, and thy palaces shall be spoiled.” You shall lose your palaces – your prosperity. Why? Because those who claimed to be His people rejected His Word. God was giving them an opportunity to repent, to turn and walk with Him.

3 The Safest Place To Be Is In The Company Of God. “Can two walk together except they be agreed?” My responsibility as a Christ Follower is to follow My Lord one step at a time and one day at a time. He is God, and I am not. God controls everything! The Bible tells us that our God is the only Ruler, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords (1 Timothy 6:15). God‘s Throne may be in the heavens, but He rules everything and everyone (Psalm 103:19). His Word sustains the universe (Nehemiah 9:6; Hebrews 1:3). God moves the nations about as checkers on a checkerboard (Isaiah 5:26; Amos 3:9-11; Habakkuk 1:12). The Psalmist reminds us that ….

Psalms 75:6-7 ^(KJV) For promotion [cometh] neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. 7 But God [is] the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.

God is in charge! Whatever situation I find myself in, I must trust not my riches nor my resources but God’s Ruling Word.

God allows nations to rise and fall. Arthur C. Custance wrote in his Doorway Papers – a series of books that relate Biblical truths to scientific fact –

“God dictates the rise and fall of nations; as Job put it (12:23): “He increaseth the nations and destroyeth them; He enlargeth the nations and straighteneth them again.” And so likewise in Psalm 47:6-8: “Sing praises to God, sing praises: sing praises unto our King, sing praises. For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding. God reigneth over the heathen: God sitteth on the throne of His holiness.” It is indeed a cause for praise!”

We who belong to the Lord live to glorify Him, to lift Him up. Walk with God. Read His Word daily. Immerse yourselves in His Presence, for here in His arms is where I am strongest!

I’m going to end with these words. Francis Chan in his book Forgotten God wrote:

“The fact is God is calling. The Spirit is beckoning. The real question is will you follow? Will you listen? {God} calls us to do something, a particular thing, and we have the choice to obey or not. … Did God lead you to where you are now?

…. how would you be missed if you left this place? What would change? Basically, what difference does your presence here make?

…. If everyone gave and served and prayed exactly like you, would the Church be healthy and empowered? Or would it be weak and listless?

…. {God’s} purposes are not random or arbitrary. If you are still alive on this planet, it’s because He has something for you to do. He has placed us on this earth for purposes that He orchestrated long before we were born (Ephesians 2:8-10). Do you believe you exist not for your own pleasure but to help people know the love of Jesus and top come fully alive in Him?

May God touch your hearts with His Word.

Many years ago at our home in Georgia we decided to pave our driveway. As I was raising a family on an Airman’s salary we certainly weren’t rich. Because of that, we decided to do the paving ourselves. A friend of mine was in the plumbing business, and he allowed me to have all the sand and gravel I needed. We just needed the Portland cement.

Portland is heavy, and I loaded about 800 pounds of it in the back of my father-in-laws Toyota pickup. As I headed down the road I heard a worrisome sound. When you overload the springs on a pickup it may be fine while it’s sitting still. But once you start moving every bump in the road makes the springs bottom out, and the tires scrub on the inside of the fender well. I was in danger of not only damaging the truck, but I could have blown a tire and been stuck on the side of the road. I worried about that rub, rub all the way home – especially because it was my father-in-law’s truck – but by the grace of God I made it. Paving the driveway is another story!

Weighing down a Toyota pickup truck isn’t that hard to do. But can you imagine weighing down God? Let’s read responsively:

Amos 2:6-16 Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes; [7] That pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek: and a man and his father will go in unto the same maid, to profane my holy name: [8] And they lay themselves down upon clothes laid to pledge by every altar, and they drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god. [9] Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath. [10] Also I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and led you forty years through the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite. [11] And I raised up of your sons for prophets, and of your young men for Nazarites. Is it not even thus, O ye children of Israel? saith the LORD. [12] But ye gave the Nazarites wine to drink; and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not. [13] Behold, I am pressed under you, as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves. [14] Therefore the flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong shall not strengthen his force, neither shall the mighty deliver himself: [15] Neither shall he stand that handleth the bow; and he that is swift of foot shall not deliver himself: neither shall he that rideth the horse deliver himself. [16] And he that is courageous among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day, saith the LORD.

Read with me again verse 13: Amos 2:13 ^(KJV) Behold, I am pressed under you, as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves.

God is a Person, just as you and I are persons. He is a Person with a Capital “P”. He is the Creator, the Chief Person, the First Cause of everything. The Bible says of God that …

Psalms 24:1 ^(HCSB) The earth and everything in it, the world and its inhabitants, belong to the LORD …

Everything belongs to God, and everyone belongs to God. God says in Psalm 50:10

“Every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills”.

God is an IMMENSE Person. The Apostle Paul preached on Mars Hill …

Acts 17:24-26 ^(HCSB) The God who made the world and everything in it — He is Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in shrines made by hands. 25 Neither is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives everyone life and breath and all things. 26 From one man He has made every nationality to live over the whole earth and has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of where they live. …

God is not just mighty, He is ALL Mighty. The Bible says:

The nations are but a speck of dust in the scales (Isaiah 40:15)
He holds all the oceans in the palm of His hand (Isaiah 40:12)
God never wearies, Nor is His understanding limited (Isaiah 40:28)
Yahweh is everlasting, the Creator (Isaiah 40:28)
The heavens are the works of God’s hands (Hebrews 1:10)
By His power are all things held together (Colossians 1:17)

God is IMMENSE. He is UNLIMITED. He is EVERYWHERE. God is ETERNAL. But God is a Person, and He can be hurt. When those whom He loves treats Him shabbily, He is hurt. God carries us, and loves to carry us in His arms – but not kicking and screaming.

This is why He said to His Old Testament people:

Amos 2:13 ^(KJV) Behold, I am pressed under you, as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves. ……… What can press God down?

1 The THANKLESS Heart Of His Children Presses God Down.

A man always grumbled and complained over the food his wife placed before him at the dinner table. Then he would ask the blessing. One day his little girl asked, “Daddy, does God hear us when we pray?” He replied “Why, of course honey. He hears us every time we pray.” She thought about this a moment, then asked, “Daddy, does God hear what we say when we’re not praying?” He said “Why yes, sweetie, God hears every word.” Thewn this sweet child asked, “Then which does God believe – what we SAY or what we PRAY?”

God hears our every word. He has blessed us all. He blessed His Old Testament People, and God blesses us today.

Amos 2:9-10 Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath. [10] Also I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and led you forty years through the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite.

a If You Are God’s Child, You Have Been Blessed Of God. God Has Destroyed GIANTS For You. God Has Delivered You From Egypt – A Picture Of The Lost World. God Has Given Us All Better Than We Deserve! Oh how good God has been to me in my life!

The “Amorites” were vicious and ruthless soldiers, feared by everyone in the land. The name “Amorite” means “mountain people” – and these people were giants among men. God describes them by saying “their height is like the cedars”. You may not know this, but the cedars of Lebanon grow up to 130 feet tall, and have trunks that are up to 8 feet and 2 inches in diameter. They are massive! The Lord said also “the Amorites are strong as the oaks”. Oak trees have a root system that goes as deep as 15 feet into the ground.

How many times has God been with us as we faced impossible odds – and conquered those odds for us. God is good! God is GOOD!

Jesus said in Matthew 5:45 ^(HCSB) … your Father in heaven … causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

God doesn’t just bless His children, but He also blesses everyone.

• The man who blasphemes God’s Name is given another day of breath, though what he speaks is like the smell of a sewer.

• God made us all in His image and in His likeness (Genesis 1:27), and God has not only given us freedom of will, and calls us to walk with Him. If we think back over our lives we can all remember times when God blessed us richly. Some of us can remember some Amorites – mountain like enemies – that God intervened and saved us from.

God has blessed us richly. We do not need to live for riches – we need to live for our bountiful God.

Matthew 6:31-33 (ESV) Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the {unbelievers} seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, AND ALL THESE THINGS WILL BE ADDED TO YOU.

b God Has Been Good To Us. Have We Been Good To Him? Treat your Heavenly Father the way you want to be treated. God said to His Israel:

Amos 2:8 And they lay themselves down upon clothes laid to pledge by every altar, and they drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god.

Though God blessed His Children they responded by following false gods and goddesses. This is a tendency that we all at times seem to drift toward. Adam’s sin in the Garden of Eden was that he listened to the word of the serpent instead of the Word of God.

Adam And Eve lost Paradise because they rejected the Word of Him that loves us so.
Israel lost the Promised Land because they chose to love lesser gods than He.
We lose blessings when we do not make our Father first in all we do.

The solution to greed and worship of lesser things is to cling to the Lord Who loves you, knowing He will never leave you. The greatest thing of all is to know in your hearts that God is your Portion and as your Portion He walks with you. God is the Gospel!

Hebrews 13:5 ^(HCSB) … Be satisfied with what you have, for He Himself has said, I will never leave you or forsake you.

A young boy fell down a flight of stairs when he was a baby, shattering his back. When he was seventeen he was asked “How many years have you been in hospitals?” to which he replied “Thirteen”. The interviewer said “Is that fair? Aren’t you mad at God?” The boy replied “No, not at all. I could have died. God has all eternity to make it up to me”. God can and will bless the thankful heart. He tells His children by faith:

1 Corinthians 2:9 ^(NET) … Things that no eye has seen, or ear heard, or mind imagined, are the things God has prepared for those who love him.

To those who love God He has a glorious land awaiting, something beyond our imagination. But just like the Promised Land, this land is reserved for those who love the Lord. God will not bless the bitter, thankless heart, for such hearts are ultimately self destructive.

2 The WANDERING Heart Of His Children Presses God Down.

Amos 2:4 Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have despised the law of the LORD, and have not kept his commandments, and their lies caused them to err, after the which their fathers have walked:

a Judah “despised the Law of the Lord and would not keep His commandments”. A Biblical Family always has ORDER. The Bible says:

1 Corinthians 14:33 For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.

There is ONE Head of Israel and ONE Head of the Church, and that Head is Christ.

Christ demands that His people keep His commandments. He is the Head of the Household of Faith. He is the Possessor of the ALL. He knows best. Judah thought that since they stayed near the Temple and were faithful to attend Church as it were that God would bless them. God told Judah:

Isaiah 29:13-14 ^(HCSB) … Because these people approach Me with their mouths to honor Me with lip-service — yet their hearts are far from Me, and their worship consists of man-made rules learned by rote — 14 therefore I will again confound these people with wonder after wonder. The wisdom of their wise men will vanish, and the understanding of the perceptive will be hidden.

Religion without a relationship with the God of Scripture isn’t right nor righteous. God is only honored when WE who are saved walk with Him, doing His Will.

Jesus said – John 14:15-18 If ye love me, keep my commandments. [16] And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; [17] Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. [18] I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

When we love God and do as He says God comes to us and guides us through this life. While Israel followed God He made Himself known in Pillar of Fire by night and Pillar of Cloud by day. When we heed His Word He speaks to our hearts!

b God Always Knows What Is Best For Us. When we turn from the command of God and make life about ourselves we hurt not only ourselves – but others as well. God said:

Amos 2:6-7 …. because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes; [7] That pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek: and a man and his father will go in unto the same maid, to profane my holy name:

When God’s people become ME rather than HE oriented, we stop being light in the midst of darkness. It is God’s people who sold the righteous for silver.

It was JUDAS ISCARIOT – one of the Twelve Disciples of Christ Who started out desiring money rather than Christ. He progressed to open greed, and finally sold Jesus the Righteous for 30 pieces of silver. In the end he HUNG HIMSELF in a terrible manner. To walk away from God’s Living Word brings a terrible punishment!

The Bible warns us that:

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The unrepentant heart filled with sin is like lungs filled with water or arthritic hands trying to lift a tremendous weight. God wants us as His Children to be blessed in this life and in the life to come. To wander from Him is to wander into briars. To wander from His Word is to choose rocks over bread, starvation over fulness. Jesus has told us:

John 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

3 Though God Is Pressed As A Cart Loaded With Sheaves, He Does Not Break. He Bears The Load. He bore the load on the Cross. He bears the load because He loves us. Though Israel rebelled against God, God never turned His back on Israel. Though they:

Amos 2:12 ^(KJV) … gave the Nazarites wine to drink; and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not.

twisted and tried to shut off the Word of God, God bore with them.

God is pressed, but never does He break. The Apostle asks us the question:

Romans 8:33-39 (NET) Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is the one who will condemn? Christ is the one who died (and more than that, he was raised), who is at the right hand of God, and who also is interceding for us. 35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will trouble, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written, “For your sake we encounter death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we have complete victory through him who loved us! 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor heavenly rulers, nor things that are present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

WHO. WHO shall separate us from the love of God? NOT GOD, BUT US. We can refuse His salvation. We can walk from His arm of protection. When my children were young I would hold their hands or carry them in my arms as we crossed a busy road. They all at times struggled – sometimes kicking – to get away from me so they could do as they wished.

God loves you and longs to embrace you in His everlasting arms. Do not fight Him. Do not wrestle free of His loving protection.

He bears the burden of sin, calling all to walk with Him. None of us deserve the love of God – but He loves us and calls us to His side. The Bible says that God knows all things, and knows that not all people will accept the salvation that becomes ours when we receive Christ. Yet nonetheless God offers salvation and family relationship to all. Sin is a barrier that stands between us and God, a barrier we cannot overcome – but God did. The Scripture says:

Isaiah 53:4-6 ^(KJV) Surely {Christ} hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But he [was] wounded for our transgressions, [he was] bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace [was] upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Jesus was weighed down with our sins, like a wagon loaded with sheaves.

The Bible says that He was stricken – beaten by man. He was smitten – beaten by God. He was afflicted – our sins were poured out on Him and judged. Yet He never broke! Jesus Christ bore our sins, and bears them still. We stand before God holy and blameless (2 Peter 3:14) because Jesus Christ took our blame. The Lord laid on Him the iniquity of us all. Jesus Christ was shamed terribly on that Cross. He said:

Isaiah 50:6 ^(KJV) I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.

The great preacher C.H. Spurgeon said “He hangs in extremity, for God has forsaken Him; His enemies persecute and take Him, for there is none to deliver Him. They mock His nakedness; the point at His agonies. They look and stare upon Him with ribald jests; they insult His griefs and make puns of His prayers. He is now indeed a worm and no man …” Our Lord Jesus was crushed, pushed down under the weight of our sins – but He did not break. He groaned as a cart would groan. “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me” (Matthew 27:46). When He said “I thirst” (Psalm 69:21; John 19:28) they didn’t give Him cool water, but jammed a sponge filled with vinegar mixed with gall in His face. He still didn’t break. When our sins were paid for He said “It is finished” (John 19:30), perhaps the three most beautiful words in the English language.

It is finished, dark sins are done.
It is finished, the Son has won.
It is finished, I am set free.
It is finished, Christ died for me.
It is finished, He rose again.
It is finished, with Him I’ll win.
Walking with Christ We Always Win!

Pastor David

All that God Requires Is That We Receive The Son and We Shall Be Blessed. The power of life is in the Son of Life. Receive God. Receive Christ! Walk in His Word and by His Spirit. When we walk apart from God ….

Amos 2:14-15 ^(KJV) ….. the flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong shall not strengthen his force, neither shall the mighty deliver himself: 15 Neither shall he stand that handleth the bow; and [he that is] swift of foot shall not deliver [himself]: neither shall he that rideth the horse deliver himself.

God is the Gospel! Receive Him. Walk in Him. Follow His Word. Do as He says and you will be blessed, for we are promised …

John 1:12 ^(KJV) But as many as received {Christ}, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, [even] to them that believe on his name …

Receive Christ. Walk in Him, and you will be blessed!

May the Holy Spirit lift your hearts to God through His Word.

Genesis 4:1-10 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD. [2] And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. [3] And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. [4] And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: [5] But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. [6] And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? [7] If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. [8] And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. [9] And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper? [10] And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.

Hebrews 11:4 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.

In 1921 the Washburn Crosby Company – the predecessor to the food company General Mills – had a write-in contest to boost sales. Many of the women writing in were asking for baking tips. The Public Relations department decided this was a good opportunity to advertise their Gold Medal brand of flour. So they replied to the letter writers signing the name Betty Crocker. Who was Betty Crocker? She never existed. Betty Crocker was a made up person who gave baking tips to the customers. Three years later in 1924 the company purchased a radio station and introduced The Betty Crocker Cooking School of the Air. As the show grew in popularity the Washburn Crosby Company would send scripts to other radio stations around the country. Each radio station hired their own local “Betty Crocker” to do the show, which gave “her” appeal to the local listeners. Imagine Betty Crocker speaking in your own accent … that boosted flour sales! In 1933 two men – John D Duff and Louis E. Dietrich – patented a method of making a dehydrated flour mixture or a cake mix. All you had to add was water and oil and the housewife could quickly make a cake. The Washburn Crosby Company purchased the right to the patent and began to produce Betty Crocker Cake Mixes. They were popular, but so were other cake mixes. How to make their cake mix more popular than the others? The United Kingdom website of Betty Crocker states “Research conducted by psychologist Ernest Dichter proved that being able to add an egg to a cake mix, rather than just using powdered egg, took away the guilt of convenient baking and affirmed the woman’s role as provider.”

Adding an egg to what was already a complete recipe made people feel better – and increased sales. The same thing has been done to the Gospel of God from the very beginning!

When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden – causing the fall of all humanity – they tried to cover their sin with human works. The Bible tells us that “the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.” (Genesis 3:6, 7 NKJV). Human works and efforts to cover our sins from the eyes of God were there at the very beginning. How did God respond?

When neither Adam nor Eve would repent (to “repent” means to acknowledge what you did was sinful) God cast them out of the Garden of Eden. But He did not do so until He showed them the righteous way of covering sin. The Bible says “Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them” (Genesis 3:21).

The innocent had to die, and blood had to be shed to cover sin.

1 Adam And Eve Had Two Children When They Left Paradise. Someone asked me one time if Adam and Eve would be in Heaven. At first I said “Of course – they are our fore-parents, the beginning of creation”. But let’s think about this for a minute.

a Being The Prototype Does Not Guarantee Salvation. Adam And Eve Never Repented When Confronted By God. They played the blame game, a game so popular in election years. It’s not MY fault, it’s SOMEBODY ELSE’S fault. I didn’t sin but “the woman YOU gave to me, God, she led me to sin” (Genesis 3:12).

Without repentance there can never be any salvation. God is holy, pure, and righteous. Man is by nature sinful. The Scripture says:

1 Corinthians 15:21-22 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

Adam is indicative of the unrepentant heart, the heart that refuses to turn to God. Though God killed a Lamb without blemish to clothe both Adam and Eve there is no indication that either of our fore-parents expressed thankfulness for the action. Repentance is necessary for salvation! The Bible says that it is “repentance that leads to life” (Acts 11:18). We acknowledge our sin, not someone else’s. The Apostle Paul preached:

Acts 20:20-21… publicly, and from house to house, [21] Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

The very first sermon Jesus ever preached was:

Matthew 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

and later told those who would hear:

Luke 13:3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

Salvation is not to just believe on God, but to REPENT and BELIEVE. To believe without repentance leads to no more than a false conversion. The one who believes without repentance is like the seed sown on the rock, of whom Jesus said:

Luke 8:13 They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and IN TIME OF TEMPTATION FALL AWAY.

Erik Raymond wrote in the April 2016 issue of Tabletalk Magazine (Ligonier Ministries):

“When you encounter suffering, do you have an unresolved answer to the question of why? Do you find yourself beginning to question God’s goodness? Or have you become somewhat bitter about what you are going through? The Christian, of all people, should know that suffering is part of the Christian life (see John 15:20; Philippians 1:29). Let’s not forget we follow a Savior Who was crucified. … God makes us more like Jesus through our suffering (Romans 5:3-5; Hebrews 5:7; James 1:2-4; 1 Peter 1:6-9)”

There was no repentance in the lives of Adam and Eve – at least none that the Scripture speaks of. Without repentance there is no salvation. The Evidence Bible from Living Water Ministries notes:

“When Peter preached on the Day of Pentecost, he commanded his hearers to repent “for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38). Without repentance, there is no remission of sins; we are still under His wrath. Peter further said, “Repent . . . and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out” (Acts 3:19). We cannot be “converted” unless we repent. God Himself “commands all men everywhere [leaving no exceptions] to repent” (Acts 17:30). Peter said a similar thing at Pentecost: “Repent, and be baptized every one of you” (Acts 2:38). If repentance wasn’t necessary for salvation, why then did Jesus command that repentance be preached to all nations (Luke 24:47)?”

Without repentance AND faith in Christ there is no real salvation.

b Adam And Eve Never Changed After Leaving Eden. They continued living in worldliness. We know this by how they named their children. The Scripture says:

Genesis 4:1-2 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD. [2] And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

The first child Eve had was named “Cain”, the Hebrew קַיִן qayin (pronounced kah’-yin). Qayin literally means “My Possession”. God allowed her to have a Child and she was PROUD of that Child. This is “My Possession”. God might have thrown us out of Eden, but look a what a beautiful, pretty Child I have! She said “I have gotten a MAN from the Lord”. I must be doing something right, because God gave me … yes ME …. a strapping baby boy, a MAN! Cain would be just like his daddy. He is a tiller of the soil. He follows in his daddy’s footsteps. Adam tilled the ground in Eden, Cain will till the ground outside of Eden. Oh, how proud they were of Cain.

You know, the things we take great pride in are often not the things that God admires. The Bible says:

1 John 2:15-16 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – is not of the Father but is of the world.

When Israel wanted a King where did they look? They didn’t look UP where the Great God and father lives. They certainly didn’t look to a young boy watching sheep at night. Israel looked to Saul to be their King, of whom the Scripture says:

1 Samuel 9:2 …. Saul, a choice young man, and a goodly: and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people.

When Cain was born – oh what a fuss was made over him! My Possession was everything a child should be. He had his daddy’s eyes, his mother’s hair, and followed after and made his parents proud. Then there was the other child.

There was Abel. The name “Abel” is the Hebrew הֶבֶל hebel (pronounced heh’-bel). What does “Hebel” mean? “Nothing”. That is it’s meaning – “Nothing, Empty, Vain, Useless”. Hebel is the nobody child. He is not celebrated. He is the least, the lesser.

Several years ago there was a show called “Everybody loves Raymond”. Raymond was not the first born child, but he was the cherished child. Robert was the afterthought. In one episode the mother was showing off Raymond’s first birthday pictures when Robert pointed out his own pictures. The mother said something like “We really didn’t have a birthday party for you. I was making a cake that day and just rubbed some chocolate on your face so we could take a picture.”

That’s a picture of Abel. When he is born Eve says NOTHING special about him. When she names him she names him “Nothing”. Hebel. Useless. Abel was a big fat zero to his parents and to his brother. But praise God:

Romans 2:11 For there is no respect of persons with God.

Abel was cherished by God. And Abel cherished God. He might not have taken his daddy’s business to himself, but he did follow in His Father’s Business. Abel was a Shepherd – a Keeper of Sheep. He loved the Lord, and knew what God required for salvation. Repentance means coming to God in full submission.

God tells those who love Him …

Isaiah 41:10 Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.

God can take a Nothing and make Someone out of them – if they will come to Him in faith.

2 Adam And Eve’s Cherished Child Is A Picture Of Godless Man Made Religion.

Genesis 4:3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.

Cain was a tiller of the soil – a farmer. So when he came to God religiously he brought what was important to HIMSELF. He brought the works of his hands and presented these works as an offering unto God.

Genesis 4:4-5 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: [5] But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.

Abel was a shepherd. When he brought his offering to God – the firstlings of his flock and the fat thereof – the Lord HAD RESPECT to Abel’s Offering. But the Lord REJECTED Cain’s offering. Why?

a Man Made Religion Is A Godless And Bloodless Religion. Before Adam and Eve left the Garden of Eden God killed a lamb and – shedding the blood of the innocent – showed our foreparents that it is the blood of the innocent that covers sin. Now these animal sacrifices were but shadows that taught of what God would do one day in the Christ:

Hebrews 10:1-4 For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. [2] For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. [3] But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. [4] For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.

But in every animal sacrifice – every Lamb without spot or blemish that that was killed – there is a picture of the Coming Christ. A bloodless sacrifice cannot point to Christ. A bloodless sacrifice cannot say of Jesus:

John 1:29 “… Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”

The bloodless offering to God cannot declare that …

1 Corinthians 5:7 …. even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:

When Abel “brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof” he was imitating what God the Father did in the Garden of Eden. Cain’s offering had no basis in God’s revelation to man. God showed Adam and Eve that a blood sacrifice was necessary for an even temporary covering for sin. A bloodless atonement is totally foreign to God’s Word.

b When Man Made Religion Is Challenged It Does Not Repent But Instead Rages. When God refused Cain’s bloodless offering what happened?

Genesis 4:5 Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.

Cain was furious! How DARE God not accept his offering. After all, this was his life’s work. Surely MY works will be good enough to gain me acceptance with God. Every time you hear of atrocities committed in God’s name you can trace them backward to bloodless religion. Whether Crusades or Jihads, where the Blood of the Lamb is not there is the Blood of murder. That which does not look toward Christ moves toward Phariseeism. Jesus said of the Pharisees:

Matthew 23:34-35 Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: [35] That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.

God asked Cain to repent, to turn, to believe on the Blood of the Lamb. He told Cain:

Genesis 4:6-7 … Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? [7] If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

Sin like a lion crouches at the door of every one who despises the Blood of Atonement. Cain rejected the WORD of God and rejected the WOO of God. Rather than REPENT he inwardly RAGED.

Genesis 4:8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.

And raging, this self righteous Pharisee killed the Child of God. Cain couldn’t kill God, so he killed the Child of God.

c Man Made Religion Is A Loveless Religion. After Cain kills his brother Abel we read:

Genesis 4:9 And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?

God spoke to Cain. God loves us. He continued to try and draw Cain to repentance. In the Psalms King David often asks “Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?” (Psalms 2:1). The Prophet Jeremiah asked God “Righteous art thou, O LORD, when I plead with thee: yet let me talk with thee of thy judgments: Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? wherefore are all they happy that deal very treacherously?” (Jeremiah 12:1). We have all asked God this question. Why do evil people seem to get a pass, while the wicked keep doing wickedness? Why do rich people get richer stealing from the poor? There is one reason:

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

God loves us and gave Himself for us. The follower of man made religion loves themselves – not God. Yet God continues to call, because ….

3 God Wants Cain To Have The Same Salvation That Abel Has. Abel suffered. He died in the field. But though he suffered, he rose to glory at the end of this life’s journey. The Scripture says that though Abel died at Cain’s hand, his Blood did not go unnoticed.

Hebrews 11:4 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.

Do you realize that throughout his life there were
no words ever recorded that Abel spoke?

Cain spoke volumes. He murmured against God. He complained when God punished him – albeit lightly – for his sin. Cain should have died the death that he inflicted on his brother.

God told Noah:

Genesis 9:6 Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.

Man is made in God’s image. That has never changed. Mankind is precious. We are not animals – we are God’s Offspring. Whoever sheds blood deserves death. But God held off the death of Cain for one reason.

He wanted us to hear Abel’s only sermon.

His sermon is what Christ requires of each of us. Jesus said:

Matthew 16:24-26 …. If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. [25] For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. [26] For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

The Christian Way of life is to lay down your life for the Lord. Abel was the first Christ Follower in the Bible, and Cain the first Pharisee. Abel followed Christ even when Cain threatened his life. Abel kept his eyes on the Blood of the Lamb. His sacrifice was excellent, for it pointed to our most Excellent Savior. Abel was righteous – right with God – because he followed God even into suffering, and even unto death.

Blessed be the name of God forever. May we all who are blood bought follow Jesus not in an armchair nor on a pew but carrying His Cross no matter what the cost.
May God bless your hearts by His Word!

Matthew 12:22 Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. 23 And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David? 24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils. 25 And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: 26 And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? 27 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges. 28 But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. 29 Or else how can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house. 30 He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad. 31 Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. 32 And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come. 33 Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit. 34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. 35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. 36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. 37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. 38 Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. 39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah: 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Words matter. Words always matter. It is the idle word that you will give account of in the day of Judgment.

Jesus always chose His Words carefully – and it makes sense that He would. He is the INCARNATE Word of God. When the Apostle John penned the first verse of the first letter he wrote, God led him to pen:

John 1:1-2  In the beginning was THE WORD, and THE WORD was with God, and THE WORD was God.  [2]  The same was in the beginning with God.

Who is the One called THE WORD? John went on to write:

John 1:14  And THE WORD was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

Jesus Christ is THE WORD of God. He is THE WORD made flesh, the Communication of God. Words matter, and THE WORD matters. What Jesus says matters above all else.

1 Jesus Can Only Heal The Willing. In our text today we read:

Matthew 12:22 Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb

A man was brought to Jesus. Three things were diagnosed as being wrong with this man. He was possessed with a devil. Evil had hold of him. When evil gets hold of someone, they can’t hear or speak the things of God. Sin separates us from God.

Psalm 66:18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:

Sin possesses us and covers us so that God cannot hear us.

Isaiah 59:2 ESV but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.

The Thrice Holy God will not hear us if we cherish sin in any way or fashion. We – each and every one of us – must come to Christ. We must feel the healing touch of His nail scarred hands, and hear His Word. Someone who loved that person brought that person to Jesus. And Jesus – Jesus alone – blessed that Person so that

Matthew 12:22 … {Jesus} healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.

The Word gave words to the one who was wordless! And the people praised God!

But the Pharisees did not.

Matthew 12:24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.

The Pharisees were blinder and dumber than the man who was brought to Jesus for healing. They had made up their minds. They had shut Jesus out. They didn’t like His Gospel message, so they turned Jesus off. People do this every day. They have preconceived ideas based on their preferred lifestyle. They lock it in place, and no matter what is said turn off any other hearing. The Pharisees didn’t want to hear Jesus, so they said something about Jesus that could not be proven. They slandered the Lord. “Jesus casts out demons by Beelzebub, the Prince of Demons”. They demonized Christ and His followers before the people – saying what could neither be proven nor was true.

They were pretty good politicians!

But Jesus did not attack back, but explained.

Matthew 12:25-28 Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: 26 And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? 27 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges. 28 But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.

No Kingdom divided against itself can stand. Jesus is the exact opposite of Satan. Satan and his kingdom of darkness have one Word that they speak, whereas Christ and His Kingdom of light have a totally different Word. Jesus was casting out demons and sickness by the Word of God and the Spirit of God. He was not using demons to cast out demons. Darkness cannot cast out darkness.

Romans 12:21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

Darkness supports darkness, light supports light. Godliness supports God, godlessness supports Satan. Jesus said:

Matthew 12:30 He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.

You are either WITH Jesus, or you are NOT. There is no fence sitting with Jesus, no Switzerland in this war between light and darkness. Satan’s Kingdom is a Kingdom of Darkness. Christ’s Kingdom is a Kingdom of Light, a Kingdom that cherishes the Word of God and magnifies the Will of God.

2 The Pharisees – Rejecting The Word Of Christ – Were Guilty Of The Unpardonable Sin. The Unpardonable Sin Is To Speak Against The Holy Spirit.

Matthew 12:31-32 Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. 32 And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.

The Unpardonable Sin is not a thing you DO, but a thing you SAY.

Jesus Christ is THE Word of God Who cast out demons by the Spirit of God. The Pharisees saw a clear work of God and rather than giving God the glory they gave the glory to Satan. They said that Christ was using demons to cast out demons. When a person’s heart is that hardened then it is too hard to be breached by the Gospel of salvation.

The Pharisees got into this predicament and committed this sin by continually speaking that which was not true to God’s Word. They kept saying the wrong thing and kept rejecting Jesus until they could no longer attempt to hear the Gospel of salvation. Their lips spoke poison that cursed them.

Matthew 12:33-35 Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit. 34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. 35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.

Just as a thermometer in the mouth determines if a person is sick or well, the words a person speaks shows whether that person is saved or lost. Words are the fruit of our lives. If we are saved by hearing the Word of Christ’s Gospel then our hearts are changed. And if our hearts are changed then our words will reflect that.

Jesus called the Pharisees “vipers” because their mouths were filled with poison. Like the serpent of Eden, the Pharisees spoke against the Word of God and against the Spirit of God. “A good man out of the good treasure of the heart brings forth good things”. The saved person is changed inwardly, and that change is both SEEN and HEARD outwardly.

3 We Must Listen To Jesus To Be Saved. We Must Follow The Risen Savior To Be Blessed. The only way to salvation is to listen to Jesus.

Matthew 12:36-37 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. 37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

By our words we shall be either justified or condemned. Words matter. What we say matters. What Jesus said matters.

At this point the Pharisees did what most people do when losing an argument – they changed the subject. “Well Jesus, show us a sign”. Jesus said:

Matthew 12:39-40 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah: 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Jesus has given us all the sign we need in His death and resurrection. As Jonah was three DAYS and three NIGHT in the belly of the whale, so JESUS was three DAYS and three NIGHTS in the heart of the earth.. He died for our sins. He was buried for our sins. Three days and three nights later He rose from the grave.

He rose from the heart of the earth so He could redeem the hearts of His people!
Blessed be His Name forever.

Judges 8:22-27 (KJV) Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son also: for thou hast delivered us from the hand of Midian. 23 And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the LORD shall rule over you. 24 And Gideon said unto them, I would desire a request of you, that ye would give me every man the earrings of his prey. (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.) 25 And they answered, We will willingly give them. And they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the earrings of his prey. 26 And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold; beside ornaments, and collars, and purple raiment that was on the kings of Midian, and beside the chains that were about their camels’ necks. 27 And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah: and all Israel went thither a whoring after it: which thing became a snare unto Gideon, and to his house.

The past few Sunday nights we have looked at what I like to call Heroes Of Our Faith. We have seen the lives of great Biblical people like Mary Magdalene, Noah, and Hagar. These are people like you and I, people who heard the call of God and who trusted Him, and because of that trust God used them to do amazing things. Tonight we’re going to look at someone named Gideon.

Our responsive reading began with:

Judges 8:22 (KJV) THEN the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son also

Do you see that word “THEN”? The word tells us there was something that came before to cause the men of Israel to ask Gideon and his children to be their King. Who was Gideon?

1 When God Met Gideon He Certainly Wasn’t “King” Material. If you study the Bible you’ll find out that Gideon’s name literally means “He that bruises or breaks, a destroyer”. Though his parents named him this Gideon certainly didn’t live up to his name. Gideon – also known as Jerubbaal – is the son of Joash, an extremely poor family from the Abiezrite clan in the tribe of Manasseh. Gideon and his family lived hand to mouth in Ophrah, a town often hard hit by the enemies of Israel called the Midianites. The Bible tells us that when God sought out Gideon that he found him hiding:

Judges 6:11 (KJV) …. Gideon threshed wheat by the wine press, to hide it from the Midianites.

Gideon was not a brave man. He was pragmatic, practical, and broken. The Midianites had attacked his poverty stricken family so many times that Gideon had taken to threshing wheat where wine was supposed to be crushed. The Angel of God appeared to broken Gideon and said:

Judges 6:12 (KJV) … The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valor.

That’s an interesting title for Gideon, “Mighty Man of Valor”. Gideon was anything but a “Mighty Man of Valor”. Gideon was a broken man. But God uses the broken, the willing, those who will submit to His Will. The Bible says:

1 Peter 5:6-7 (ESV) Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you…

The skilled Potter takes raw clay from the river bed and, crushing it, forms it into a lump. The Potter takes the clay and, spinning it on the wheel, forces it from useless mud into a work of beauty. The Potter then takes that formed object and fires it in the kiln, hardening that work until it is a lasting treasure. The trials of life that come often open our eyes to the reality of the Eternal Savior. The Bible tells us that:

James 4:6 (ESV) …. God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

and our Lord Jesus declared ..

Matthew 23:12 (ESV) Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

When you’re down and broken then you are exactly in the right place for God to bless you. The Angel finds Gideon and encourages him. “I’ve been looking for you, Mighty Man of God”. As soon as he is addressed Gideon begins the blame game. You know what that is, don’t you? When Adam sinned against God in the Garden he said:

Genesis 3:12 (KJV)… THE WOMAN WHOM THOU GAVEST TO BE WITH ME, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.

God, YOU made this mess! God, YOU’RE the Cause that I am in the quicksand of sin. The woman you gave me was imperfect. Gideon follows the same pattern that we have all often followed:

Judges 6:13 (KJV)13 And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.

These Midianites are killing us! That YOUR fault, God. But wait a minute … is that really true? You see, when God led Israel into the land He told all the tribes to cast idolatry out of the land, to drive out all the idolaters. Rather than do this the tribes intermarried with the idolaters. The Tribe of Manasseh intermarried with Midianites …. and the Midianites turned on them.

When we fail to listen to God (Who, after all, knows best for us) then we bring misery on ourselves. The solution to our problems is not to blame God. The solution to our problems is to heed God, and obey His Word.

The Bible says:

Judges 6:14-16 (KJV)14 And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: HAVE NOT I SENT THEE? 15 And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house. 16 And the LORD said unto him, SURELY I WILL BE WITH THEE, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.

God told Gideon “GO in this THY MIGHT”. Gideon has no might. He is a broken man. But Gideon can do two things:

He can GO where God tells him, and
He can DO what God tells him.

That’s all God is asking Gideon to do. Get up and go knowing that God is with you. Get up and do knowing that God sent you. Make sure that the Captain of your salvation is with you and that you are heeding HIS Word.

A young Ensign was making his first trip on a Destroyer. Fully trained, the Captain assigned him the duty of maneuvering the Destroyer out of the harbor. He barked orders and the ship got out of the harbor in record time. One of the mates came to the young Ensign and said “You have a message from the Captain”. The message said “You’ve done an excellent job, but there is an unwritten rule you’ve overlooked. The next time you set sail, make sure the Captain is on board!”

Gideon was to GO and DO as God said. The Midianites cannot be defeated while you’re hiding in the wine press. You have to go with God to the Midianites doing what God said – then you can see things turn around.

2 Before Gideon Could Be Used By God He Had To Be Focused On The One True God.

A man bragged that he had cut off the tail of a man eating lion with his pocket knife. When he was asked “Why didn’t you cut off his head” he replied “Somebody had already done that”. If Gideon – and we ourselves – are going to defeat the darkness of evil which is all around us we must rely on the Lord our God.

a The Idols Must Be Toppled Before We Can Stand With God. God told Gideon:

Judges 6:25-26 (KJV) … And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him …. throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the grove that is by it: 26 And build an altar unto the LORD thy God upon the top of this rock, in the ordered place, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which thou shalt cut down.

Gideon was afraid to do this by day, so he did it in the night (see verse 27). The next morning the townspeople saw that the altar of Baal was destroyed and demanded that Joash

Judges 6:30 (KJV) …. Bring out thy son {Gideon}, that he may die: because he hath cast down the altar of Baal, and because he hath cut down the grove that was by it.

Gideon’s dad said in effect “Let Baal defend himself if he is really a god”. On that day Gideon was given the nickname Jerubbaal which means “let Baal talk it over with him”. The idols must be gone from our lives if we want God to bless us.

A wife walked into a local grocery store and saw her husband passionately kissing another woman. As she angrily came toward him he saw her out of the corner of his eye. He stopped and turning to his wife said “Honey, it’s not what you think. When I saw this woman and how beautiful she is she reminded me of you … and I just had to kiss her!” What response do you think he’ll get from that? It won’t be good! Likewise, our God is a jealous God. He says:

Exodus 34:14 NLT You must worship no other gods, for the LORD, whose very name is Jealous, is a God who is jealous about his relationship with you.

When God saves a person the first thing He demands is that the idols be gone. We are not to idolize anything – not even our familial relationships – above God.

Luke 14:26 CEV You cannot be my disciple, unless you love me more than you love your father and mother, your wife and children, and your brothers and sisters. You cannot come with me unless you love me more than you love your own life.

The idols must go. God must be first! Always! Gideon tore down the idols in his life, and after the idols were gone and his heart was focused on loving God first – then and only then could he be used to bring a great change to his world.

b Before We Can Go We Must Be Sure Of Our God And His Word. Gideon was growing in faith, but he wanted to be sure before he went to battle that God was with him. So Gideon “placed a fleece” before God.

Judges 6:36-37 (KJV) And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said, 37 Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said.

This is not an act of faithlessness, but an act of faith. If God is going to use Gideon – pitiful and weak Gideon – then God can use this piece of wool. Think about that wool for a moment. It is a piece of skin off of a dead animal. If God can interact with something like this, then He can use Gideon.

God did exactly as Gideon asked. The dew was on the fleece only, and not on the ground. So Gideon asked God to reverse the process – to put dew on the ground but not on the fleece.

Judges 6:39 (KJV) … Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once: let me prove, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew.

You know what? God did it. God loves His children. And God loves to use the humble. He used humble Moses. He used humble Gideon. He will use a humble you. He will speak to you. Now that God has spoken to Gideon it is time for him to go meet the Midianites. Gideon’s army was initially 230,000. But God told Gideon:

Judges 7:2 (KJV) … the LORD said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me.

God does not need a LOT or a BUNCH to get the job done. Jesus started His Church with just 11 faithful men. On the day of Pentecost 120 faithful men and women prayed in the Upper Room until the Holy Spirit came. The Scripture says:

Zechariah 4:6 …. not by MIGHT nor by POWER but by MY SPIRIT saith the LORD.

Acts 17:25 KJV Neither is (God) worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed any thing, seeing He giveth to all life, and breath, and all things

God is the Giver of all things. He doesn’t need us. But He wants us. He wants to incorporate us into His plans. He blesses us by giving us an opportunity to serve Him and see how great He is!

God had Gideon reduce the number of fighters until the 230,000 became only 300. Then Gideon followed God’s plan. The Bible says:

Judges 7:16 (KJV) {Gideon} divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet in every man’s hand, with empty pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers.

Three hundred men. Three hundred trumpets – and three hundred men knew how to play them. Let me ask you right now … how many of you can play a trumpet? That’s what I thought. But God is in control. Every man is able to do what God called them to do. And they had three hundred trumpets available. That boggles my mind. I don’t think I could find three hundred trumpets in all of Nashville and Franklin! The plan was very simple. Gideon said …

Judges 7:18 (KJV) When I blow with a trumpet, I and all that are with me, then blow ye the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and say, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon.

They were to blow their trumpets, and break the pitchers that was in their hands that had candles in them. They did just as God told them to do. And the Bible says:

Judges 7:22 (KJV) … the three hundred blew the trumpets, and the LORD set every man’s sword against his fellow, even throughout all the host: and the host fled to Bethshittah in Zererath, and to the border of Abelmeholah, unto Tabbath.

The enemy ran away!

3 We Must Be Careful Never To Depart From Glory To God. There is a lot more to the story of Gideon and how God used him to defeat the darkness. Sadly, time requires I move on to our focal text for tonight. God made Gideon. God blessed Gideon. God saved Israel using Gideon. As a result we read that:

Judges 8:22 (KJV) Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son also: for thou hast DELIVERED us from the hand of Midian.

Do you see that word “DELIVERED”? That is the Hebrew יָשַׁע yasha` (pronounced yaw-shah’) which means “to save or be the salvation of”. The people of Israel are saying to Gideon

YOU are our Savior! Rule us, Oh Savior!

Now Gideon is wise not to fall into this trap. He said:

Judges 8:23 … I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the LORD shall rule over you.

What a wonderful response. The LORD – the Eternal God – Yahweh – HE shall rule over you. I think it is wonderful that we honor the heroes of the faith, but as we honor them let us never forget that without the empowerment of God they would be nothing.

Do you remember when Gideon started with an army of 230,000 and the Lord made him reduce it to 300. Do you remember why God had Gideon do that? It was so that no Israelite would create an idol among themselves.

2 Corinthians 3:5 …. our sufficiency is from God

John 15:5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

Gideon was of the Tribe of Manasseh, not of Judah. God never set the kings to come from Manasseh, regardless as to what the “popular vote” was. So Gideon rejected the offer of being King.

I have heard powerful speakers like Adrian Rogers or Charles Stanley or Max Lucado referred to as “great men of God”. With all due respect, what is more true is that they are “men of a Great God”. As long as we keep that in mind of ourselves God can use us to do great things. When we forget that we mess ourselves up.

Gideon compromised. He said:

Judges 8:24 (KJV) …. I would desire a request of you, that ye would give me every man the earrings of his prey. (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.)

The Midianites were actually ISHMAELITES – descendants of Ishmael, Abraham’s child by Hagar. They were Arabs – cousins to the Israelites, and it was their custom to wear ear rings. When enemies were defeated it was the practice to take the possessions of the defeated dead. Gideon asked that each Israelite give him one ear ring from the spoils of war. At the end of the day they collected about 43 pounds of gold.

In today’s market this would be worth about $779,101.88

What was Gideon going to do with all this gold? He came from a poor town. He grew up in a poor household. What good could Gideon do with that much money? He made a gold Ephod. An Ephod is an outer garment – a ceremonial sleeveless coat worn by the High Priest of Israel. He had a 43 pound coat made.

Judges 8:27 (KJV) … Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah: and all Israel went thither a whoring after it: which thing became a snare unto Gideon, and to his house.

It wasn’t wrong to take the gold.

1 Timothy 5:18 ESV For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.”

It was wrong what Gideon did with the gold. When God gives us something, it is to be used for HIS GLORY.

1 Corinthians 10:31 NASB Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Colossians 3:17 NASB Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

I do not believe that Gideon meant to set up an idol, but he in effect did set up an idol. He put his name on the library, and his picture in the hospital corridor. God took a broken man and made him whole. God’s Grace lifted him up, and put him in charge of a 300 man army that overthrew the idols and idolatrous people who plagued Israel. At one time Gideon’s family kept a Temple to Baal. Now they kept a Temple to Gideon’s Ephod.

And people flocked to Ophrah not to worship the Lord Who delivered Israel, but to worship the golden ephod that Gideon made. If we are to be blessed of God and be the Light that he wants us to be we MUST reject all ephods, golden or otherwise. We must stand firm on God’s Word, loving Him and glorifying Him in all that we say and do. May God bless you with His Word!

Amos 1:2 ^(KJV) … The LORD will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the habitations of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top of Carmel shall wither.

Why are we in the Book of Amos? Why are we in the Old Testament at all?

Because the Old Testament is the foundation of our New Testament. The Apostles and our Lord Jesus Christ quoted extensively from the Old Testament. Before there was a written “New Testament” the Bible was the Old Testament. The Old Testament is important – and very rarely read.

I heard a preacher once tell his congregation to “Turn to the Book of Hezekiah”. After listening to the pages rustle for a few minutes the preacher told the congregation that there is no Book of Hezekiah – Hezekiah was a King of Israel mentioned in 2 Kings which IS a book of the Scripture. Dr. Adrian Rogers once told His Church “If I asked you to turn to Phillips 66 some of you would try to go there!”

There is a Book of Amos. Go to the Psalms, the center of your Bible. Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentation, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos. If you hit Obadiah you have gone too far.

What is the Main Point of Amos?

1 God’s Word Is To Be HEARD and OBEYED, Or God’s Roar Will Come.

Amos 1:2 ^(KJV) … The LORD will roar from Zion…

God made us, created us in His image, and God knows what is best for us. God loves His creation. He loves every person. The Bible says:

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

God offers His creation blessing – but blessing comes only through heeding and living by His Word. God is not asleep in the Heavens. He is aware of what we are doing, and God WILL JUDGE sin. Those who love and walk with God will be protected – but those who DO NOT will be judged.

I believe that America is headed toward judgment. I believe that a large part of the so called Church in America is headed toward judgment. But I believe that those who love the Lord and hear and obey His Word will be blessed while others shall be judged.

When you read the Old Testament you see nations who were destroyed because they turned away from the Word of God and to their own desires.

• You see Adam and Eve cast out of Paradise because Adam received the word of the world over the Word of God.

• You see Cain murdering his brother Abel because Abel followed the Word of God in worship, but Cain thought that his own feelings and desires were best.

• You see God destroying a world by water, saving only Noah and his family, a few people who believed God’s Word.

• You see Israel being denied the Promised Land because they rejected God’s Word to advance, whereas Caleb and Joshua entered the land and were blessed.

• You see the shepherd David trusting in the Word of God, slaying Goliath, and eventually being advanced by God to become King in place of Saul – whereas Saul lost the Kingdom because he would not heed to Word of the King of Kings and Lord of Lord.

• You see Lot leaving Sodom with his daughters while his wife becomes a pillar of salt, looking back, turning from God’s Word to the World’s woo.

I could go on and on for an hour, but you get the point. When we read the Old Testament we see when a people follow God’s Word they are blessed, but when they reject God’s Word they are cursed. To reject God’s Word is to bring God’s Judgment on us. But if we heed and live by His Word then we shall be blessed.

On Monday April 4^th 2016 the Tennessee State Senate voted 19-8 in favor of a bill to make the Bible the “Official Book of Tennessee”. Whether the Governor Bill Haslam will approve or veto the bill is yet to be determined. I admire our State Senate for attempting such a thing. Yet whether the Bill passes or not, the Bible is forever the Word of God. To heed and do God’s Word is to be blessed. To reject His Word is to be cursed. As Jesus said:

Matthew 7:24-27 (HCSB) Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain fell, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and pounded that house. Yet it didn’t collapse, because its foundation was on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of Mine and doesn’t act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 The rain fell, the rivers rose, the winds blew and pounded that house, and it collapsed. And its collapse was great!

Again, I admire our Senate for what it is trying to do.

Until each person regards the Bible as THE Word of God and acts appropriately there will be no widespread blessing, no light, no safety from the storm.

a The LORD Will Roar From Zion …. And Amos Heard Him And Was Not Afraid.

When God speaks to us, He speaks to us in a language we can understand. When He spoke to Amos, God spoke to Amos in a language he could understand. Amos was a HERDSMAN.

Amos 1:1 ^(KJV) The words of Amos, who was among the HERDSMEN of Tekoa …

A HERDSMAN is someone who farms SHEEP or CATTLE for a living. God called this simple but honest man out to stand up for Him and speak His Word. God calls each and every one of us to stand with Him, to hear His Word and be blessed. If you hear and apply the Word of God then you will be blessed. God uses the willing. The Scripture says:

1 Corinthians 1:28-29 ^(HCSB) … God has chosen what is insignificant and despised in the world — what is viewed as nothing — to bring to nothing what is viewed as something, 29 so that no one can boast in His presence.

Anne Graham Lotz wrote in her book And We Are Changed:

“You may think you are ill equipped, but that is irrelevant. We are all ill equipped! He doesn’t need our equipment to take care of His business! We need His equipment, and the Bible declares emphatically that He has ‘given us everything we need for life and godliness’ (2 Peter 1:3).”

As a Shepherd Amos was acquainted with LIONS. When a LION roared it was a warning. The first words God tells Amos to utter is …

Amos 1:2 ^(KJV) … The LORD WILL roar from Zion …

When the LION roars the prey is frightened, but the lion cub is comforted. When the LORD roars the godless are disturbed, but those who love Him and walk with Him are at peace!

Hosea 11:10 ^(HCSB) They WILL follow the LORD; He will roar like a lion. When He roars, His children will come trembling from the west.

The Lord roars from Zion to call His children to Him, to call the faithful to walk with Him. But He also roars to warn the disobedient that He is coming to execute judgment against those who will not hear Him.

Adrian Rogers said “Hope” means certainty, but not just any certainty. When the Bible says “hope,” it means a rock-ribbed assurance with anticipation, based on the Word of God. When I was a little boy, my dad would take us out for a ride on Sunday afternoon. We kids would be in the back seat, getting into squabbles. If things got too heated, my dad would turn around and say, “When you boys get home, I’m going to whip you.” With my dad, I knew this was a rock-ribbed truth! We could anticipate it, but not with gladness!

Hebrews 10:31 ^(HCSB) It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God!

Amos didn’t have to worry about the Lion of Judah attacking him – he was walking with the Lord! If you’re a shepherd a lion is no threat if it is on your side.

The Lion of Judah was on Amos’ side because Amos was on the Lord’s side. Though many nations will fall in Amos’ time, he will be preserved.

Psalms 37:34-39 ^(HCSB) Wait for the LORD and keep His way, and He will exalt you to inherit the land. You will watch when the wicked are destroyed. 35 I have seen a wicked, violent man well-rooted like a flourishing native tree. 36 Then I passed by and noticed he was gone; I searched for him, but he could not be found. 37 Watch the blameless and observe the upright, for the man of peace will have a future. 38 But transgressors will all be eliminated; the future of the wicked will be destroyed. 39 THE SALVATION OF THE RIGHTEOUS IS FROM THE LORD, THEIR REFUGE IN A TIME OF DISTRESS.

2 What Does This Text Tell Us About The Roar Of God?

a It Is An Eternal Roar. “The LORD Will Roar From Zion”. Notice that the word LORD is all UPPER CASE. When you come across this in the King James Version this is the YHWH – Yahweh – the Eternal Name of God. When Moses asked God “Who shall I say has sent me?” the Lord replied:

Exodus 3:14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.

Our God is the Eternal God, and His Word is the Eternal Word. What He has said is right is right yesterday, today, and forever. God’s Word does not fluctuate, but it endures. God calls people everywhere to salvation by faith in His Word.

1 Peter 1:23-25 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. [24] For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: [25] But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.

b This Roar Is NOT Against Those Who Love The Lord. We read again:

Amos 1:2 ^(KJV) … The LORD will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem

Notice that God roars FROM Zion to the world – but “UTTERS HIS VOICE” – He speaks – FROM Jerusalem. God loves His children saved by faith. Jerusalem is an Old Testament picture of God’s Church, those Who love Him and who are loved by Him.

Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

1 John 4:10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son [to be] the propitiation for our sins.

Isaiah 53:5 But he [was] wounded for our transgressions, [he was] bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace [was] upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Those who love the Lord need not be fearful of His roar. His roar is against those who have rejected His Word. His roar is against those who have rejected His Grace.

c At The Roar Of The Lord “The Habitations Of The Shepherds Shall Mourn”. The false shepherds – those who twist the Word of God rather than speak the Word of God – shall be exposed. The Lord will roar from Zion. His Word will be heard!

There are false prophets who have not presented the Word of God but instead used His Word for their gain. The Pharisees and Sadducees in Jesus’ day were of this sort. But there are many more besides who blaspheme God by twisting His Word.

I heard a “Television Preacher” say at a funeral “no matter what this good man believed, I know that he is united with his wife in Heaven”. Is that true? No. For Jesus has said:

John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

I heard another preacher say “When we come together, we do not need to always speak about Jesus”. That is rot! I have to speak about Jesus. I have to hear about Jesus. A good Shepherd will always point to the Great Shepherd, Jesus Christ.

d When The LORDs Roar Comes, Prosperity Will Cease.

Amos 1:2 ^(KJV) … The LORD will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the habitations of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top of Carmel shall wither.

Economic ruin comes to the nation that hardens its conscience against God and His Word. With moral failure comes eventual financial collapse.

and the top of Carmel shall wither

The nations had been enjoying prosperity – they were on the golden mountaintop of Carmel – but now this would wither. God roars against six very powerful nations because of their crimes against humanity. What did they do?

• Damascus (Modern day Syria 1:3) and Edom (1:11) had little regard for human life. They were merciless and cruel when they killed.

• Gaza (1:6) and Tyre (1:9) treated people as property. They loved to trade slaves for profit, robbing others of their God given freedom.

• Ammon (1:13) was guilty of not only aborting babies, but killing pregnant mothers.

• Moab (2:1) burned the bones of the King of Edom and mixed them with lime. They mocked and dishonored the dead.

Each of these nations were guilty of crimes against humanity. They were no longer doing what God created nations to do!

God created nations and governments to protect those within its border so that every person can have the opportunity to be saved by faith in Him.

God destroyed the nations in Noah’s day because …

Genesis 6:5 ^(HCSB) … the LORD saw that man’s wickedness was widespread on the earth and that every scheme his mind thought of was nothing but evil all the time ..

these nations no longer existed to protect its citizens so they could freely consider God’s Grace. Because of that God wiped out all but eight souls. When Noah and his family got off the Ark God warned them – and warns us today –

Genesis 9:5-6 ^(HCSB) I will require the life of every animal and every man for your life and your blood. I will require the life of each man’s brother for a man’s life. 6 Whoever sheds man’s blood, his blood will be shed by man, for God made man in His image.

God said “I made man in My image”. Man did not descend from a monkey. He was not an evolutionary quirk. We did not crawl from goo to good to the image of God.

We were made in God’s image by the God Who loves us.

America rose from obscurity to become one of the greatest superpowers in the world because – as a nation – we honored God. The American Revolution was fought by Christian men and women who believed that certain truths were self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness (Declaration of Independence). An honorable America fought in World War II to overthrow nations that were guilty of crimes against humanity. A Christian America stood against atheistic Communism and the murderous rule of the United Socialist Republic – the USSR. Only when this evil system toppled did we discover that in Stalin’s reign alone some 70 million people were murdered. From its founding America has led the way in being used of God, and we were blessed as a nation because the Bible says:

Proverbs 11:19 ^(HCSB) Genuine righteousness leads to life, but pursuing evil leads to death.

If God used America to overthrow nations that despised life, what nation will God now use to overthrow US, for do we not despise His Word?

3 Through Amos, God Is Calling His People To Be Light In The Midst Of Darkness. If you read Amos chapter 1 you hear the LORD roar against Damascus (1:3), Gaza (1:6), Tyre (1:9), Edom (1:11), and Ammon (1:13). In chapter 2 God speaks against Moab (2:1). As Amos preached against the six nations I’m sure the congregation was shouting and clapping. When he finished addressing the sixth nation I’m sure than many leaned forward, closed their Bibles, and started gathering up their possessions so they could get to the nearest Kosher Deli before the tables were all taken. But Amos wasn’t done. In Chapter 2:4-16 Amos addresses Judah and Israel, God’s Old Testament divided people. God told His people ….

Amos 2:10 ^(KJV) Also I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and led you forty years through the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite.

God has been good to us. He has been good to His Church. We have the blessings we have because we listen to our Lord, our Father, and the Holy Spirit of God. God said to His Judah:

Amos 2:4-5 ^(KJV) Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have despised the law of the LORD, and have not kept his commandments, and their lies caused them to err, after the which their fathers have walked: 5 But I will send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem.

We are saved by the Grace of God. But once saved, we are to follow the One Who saved us. Jesus declared:

John 14:14-15 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. [15] If ye love me, keep my commandments.

John 15:9-10 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. [10] If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.

Matthew 22:37-40 ^(HCSB) … Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38 This is the greatest and most important command. 39 The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. 40 All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.

Please stay on the right side of God’s Word. Hear and obey His Word, or He will roar!

Philippians 1:27-29 Only let your conversation be as it becometh the Gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; [28] And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God. [29] For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;

… let your CONVERSATION be as it becometh the Gospel of Christ …

In modern English the word “conversation” means “an informal talk involving two people or a small group of people : the act of talking in an informal way”. The word “conversation” entered the pulpit years ago when the Seeker Sensitive Movement gained popularity. There was a time when the Pastor got up and preached the authoritative Word of God. But the Seeker Sensitive Church changed “preaching” into a “conversation”. There was less authority and more tolerance. The late great W.A. Criswell, the Pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas once preached in 1963:

“The actual minister of today, usually, as you find him, will be an effete, effeminate, dilettante, standing in the pulpit with his mild manners, speaking to a mild-mannered congregation on how to be more mild-mannered.”

Prayerfully that’s not what you’re going to hear tonight. Though it is the middle of the week I am praying that the Holy Spirit grab us, lift us up, and help us to understand what the Apostle was talking about when he wrote “let your CONVERSATION be as it becometh the Gospel of Christ”.

“Conversation”. The word in the Old English – a word that was understood back in the day that it was written – means “the act of a citizen”. The original Greek word in this text is is πολιτεύομαι politeuomai (pronounced pol-it-yoo’-om-ahee). If you look at the word you can see it looks a little like political. There was a time when being political meant “being a good citizen – expressing allegiance to your country or nation”. Later in this letter the Apostle writes:

Philippians 3:20-21 For our CONVERSATION is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ: [21] Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.

Here he uses the same Greek word – slightly different but the same – here it is πολίτευμα politeuma (pronounced pol-it’-yoo-mah). You can see the similarity.

We who are Christians are citizens of a Heavenly Kingdom. We are first and foremost citizens of the Kingdom of God. Though we live on this earth and should be good citizens of the country we live in, our allegiance is first and foremost to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ our Savior.

1 We Are “Citizens” Of The Kingdom Of God Because Of The Gospel. The Apostle said:

Philippians 1:27 … let your conversation^{(way of life)} be as it becometh the gospel of Christ …

We are not citizens of the Heavenly Kingdom – destined for glory – because of anything we have done. We are saved by the Grace of God! When God saved Israel He warned His people against arrogance, saying:

Deuteronomy 7:7–9 (ESV) It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, 8 but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore …

We who are children of God’s Kingdom need not be puffed up in our salvation. The Bible says that:

Isaiah 64:6 … we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

It is not that we were better than other men or women that we are citizens of His Kingdom. We are all in the same state, for the Scripture says …

Romans 3:23 (ESV)… for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

This is the BAD NEWS. But the GOOD NEWS is that

Romans 3:24-26 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: [25] Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; [26] To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

I have heard of people who, in order to escape terrible injustices and horrible treatment, risk their lives in flimsy boats to try and cross the waters from Cuba to the Florida shores … a distance of about 90 miles. They risk everything to trade their citizenship, to get away from the darkness of the dictators and to the hope of America. Many die in the attempt. How horrible it must be to be raised in countries where there is no freedom!

But to enter the Heavenly Kingdom – that New Jerusalem – does not require a dangerous passage over treacherous waters. It is Jesus Christ Who is both the Author and Finisher of our faith. He is the Author. It is His Blood that purchased our redemption.

Ephesians 1:7 7 (in Jesus Christ) we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

We have no pride in acquiring our citizenship! We are citizens because Christ paid our passport.

Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe;
Sin left a crimson stain,
Oh but praise Him!
He washed it white as snow.

Our citizenship should be AS IS BECOMING the Gospel of Christ. The Gospel is received by GRACE.

At the end of the worship service a little boy watched a man go forward and stand at the front of the Church. “What is that man doing, Mommy?” the child asked. “Why honey, he is asking Jesus for something.” The child replied, “Well if he really wants something from Jesus he needs to get down on two knees.. That’s what I do at night before I go to bed”. There is great wisdom in a child. The Bible declares:

James 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

Jesus Christ provided the treasury of Grace, but only those who receive it humbled in His sight shall be blessed. Jesus died for every man – but only to those who receive Him as Lord and Savior.

2 Corinthians 5:15 (NLT) (Christ) died for everyone so that those who RECEIVE his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.

The glorious Gospel of Christ declares that all may be saved if they but receive it’s promise. When a person no matter how leprous, no matter how blinded by sin, no matter how lost asks “how may I be a citizen of Heaven?” our answer must be repent and look to Him.

Look to God in the manger, that blessed Baby Virgin born
Look to God hanging, bleeding, the Son dying for you
Look to Christ gone from the tomb, risen, conquering the grave
Look to Him ascending, sitting at the Father’s right hand
Look for Him coming, He is coming again
and one day He will reign, and we will reign with Him

2 We Are Citizens Of Christ’s Kingdom. We Are Citizens TOGETHER. The Apostle wrote:

Philippians 1:27-29 Only let your conversation be as it becometh the Gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with ONE MIND STRIVING TOGETHER FOR THE FAITH OF THE GOSPEL;

We should be in one mind. Focused. On. Jesus.

The Church of Jesus Christ is to be an earthly reflection of the New Jerusalem. The only revolt that ever occurred in Heaven was when the Devil, called in Revelation the Dragon, with his tail drew out the third part of the angels of Heaven (Revelation 12:4). The Devil and his angels have stood against God from the beginning – and …

Revelation 12:9 …. that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

There is no place in Heaven for the devil and his angels – and there is no place in the Church for the devil and his angels. The Church is a family of faith, a people who love one another because they have been loved.

The One Who saved us by His Blood said:

John 13:34-35 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. [35] By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

We are to love and encourage and support one another. When we get to Heaven there will be no hospitals, no graves, no sickness, no sadness. When we get to our eternal home, that Heavenly City, there will also be no misunderstandings, no divisions, no arguments, no grudges, no uplifted by pride, no backbiting, no hurt nor pain in all of God’s Holy Mountain. The Bible says of the Christian that we are to be reconcilers.

2 Corinthians 5:19-21 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. [20] Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. [21] For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

When every member is reconciled to God and our eyes are collectively on Christ, glorifying Him, magnifying Him, then we are most like that Heavenly Jerusalem. We stand fast in one Spirit – the Holy Spirit. We are with ONE MIND STRIVING TOGETHER for the faith of the gospel. Nothing harms the cause of Christ more than the Judas Iscariot going out and selling Christ for his own gain. The Iscariot often dies by his or her own hand. But those who live as if a citizen of Heaven will be Christ-like not Judas-like.

Romans 12:10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honor preferring one another;

Treat one another as the workmanship of God as Ephesians 2:10 declares.

None of us are perfect – but we are moving toward perfection.
None of us are masterpieces, but we are the Master’s one and all.
All of us struggle, and sometimes fall.
But we are children of the King – if we have received Him on bended knee.

Remember the words of the Apostle:

1 Corinthians 12:13-14 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. [14] For the body is not one member, but many.

1 Corinthians 12:26-27 And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it. [27] Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.

This sense of family is missing from far too many Churches today. The Church is a city – a microcosm of the New Jerusalem. The Church is a body with every member following the Head that is Christ. We are to treasure Christ and treasure our Christian family.

3 We Are Citizens Of An Eternal Heavenly But Hated Kingdom.

Philippians 1:28 And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God.

The Apostle does not speak as if we might have adversaries. If you are a Christian you will have adversaries. The world hates the Gospel. The Apostle said:

1 Corinthians 1:23-24 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness; [24] But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.

The Gospel is FOOLISHNESS to the world. The Light cannot ever be palatable to the darkness. Darkness and light are always at war. Good and evil are always at war. There is no peace between Satan and the Son of God. If you belong to Jesus you will be attacked. Jesus said:

Matthew 10:36-39 And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. [37] He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. [38] And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. [39] He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

Oh, how the world and the worldly hate a sectarian Gospel. But Beloved, it is not the Gospel if it is not the Gospel of Christ.

Jesus clearly said:

John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

You cannot win anyone to the Kingdom of God if you are not serious about your faith. You cannot be double minded, with one foot in the fallen world and one foot on the ship of salvation. Choose!

I remember as a little boy going fishing with my dad. We would step off the dock and onto the edge of the boat, then quickly get fully in the boat. One time it was particularly windy, and I kept one foot on the dock as with the other I stepped on the edge of the boat. Daddy told me

“Boy, make up your mind.
Get IN the boat,
Get ON the dock,
or gravity and the tide will make the decision for you!”

Citizens of the Kingdom live for the Kingdom. We are sold out for Jesus! I heard a story once about the Roman Legion who went to conquer, traveling by ship. When they docked, the citizens of that land gathered what weapons they could to defend their homes. Forming into a small army, they headed toward the shore to attack the Roman Legion. But they weren’t prepared for what they saw. When the Legion disembarked they fired flaming arrows into the ships, burning them until they sank. When the citizens saw this they laid down their weapons and surrendered.

The Legion was not going to retreat.
These people were serious about conquering.

Too many local Churches today are trying to live in two worlds. We cannot. We are citizens of God’s Kingdom. Christ is our Savior and King. We will be attacked. We will be hated. But we will NOT be defeated, for Christ is at the helm of this great ship. In NOTHING we are to be terrified of our enemies. NOTHING! Christ has conquered. He has won. The darkness may still be, but God greater than any darkness.

Philippians 1:29 For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;

It is a privilege to suffer for Jesus. He suffered for us. He suffered to save us. The darkness of evil will always attack God’s Kingdom and God’s citizens. The Bible says:

Luke 6:26-35 Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets. [27] But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, [28] Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. [29] And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also. [30] Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again. [31] And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. [32] For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. [33] And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. [34] And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. [35] But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.

When evil is done to you, do not join the darkness but let the light of the Kingdom shine through you. Let others see Christ in your hands, your feet. Let others hear Christ from your lips. Whatever you suffer, suffer it for Christ’s sake. For one day we will join Him in glory. O glorious day!

May God touch your hearts with His Word.

Hebrews 12:1-2 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, [2] Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

One of my favorite movies is a very old one called Sgt York. Tennessee born, Sgt Alvin York (played by Gary Cooper) was one of the most decorated Army soldiers in World War I. He received the Congressional Medal of Honor for charging a German machine gun nest, and for killing at least 20 German soldiers, and capturing 132 others. Alvin is a Christian. When he was told he had to submit to the draft and go fight the enemy Alvin refused to go. When his Pastor asked him why, and told him that if he didn’t go he would be in trouble, Alvin said “The Book says ‘Thou shalt not kill’, and I ain’t gonna kill!’ “ I like what the Pastor (played by Walter Brennan) said to Alvin. He said:

“Alvin, most people have the Sunday go to meeting kind of faith –
but you have the living kind of faith”

What the Pastor said to Alvin is truer todays than it was back when Alvin York walked this earth. Too many people have the Sunday go to meeting faith – but that’s not the kind of faith God wants us to have. God wants us to have the overcoming kind of faith. Life is tough. Hard things happen in life. But we are not – if we are Christians – to be overcome but to be OVERCOMERS.

How Can I Have OVERCOMING Faith In A Overwhelming World?

1 My Faith Must Be Placed In The Right PERSON. I must first of all do as the Scripture says:

Hebrews 12:2 …. Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith ….

Our eyes must be on JESUS. Our focus must be on JESUS. Our ears must be tuned to His Word. Our faith is to be in Him. Do you see that work “LOOKING”? The beginning of salvation is to LOOK at Christ. To FOCUS on Him. Jesus Christ is THE Author of salvation. Salvation is a Book written by the Blood of Christ. When you look at Christ and put all of your focus on Him then this belief will save you. The Bible says:

1 John 5:4-5 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. [5] Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

The Bible declares that those who are “born again” are those who are “born again by faith in Christ”. The Bible further states that the “born again” are “born again as overcomers”. That it is the natural state of Christ’s children. We are overcomers – not to be overcome. Salvation is a gift, a free gift, but it is an overcoming gift. Salvation is given to those who acknowledge their inabilities:

Romans 4:5-7 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. [6] Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, [7] Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.

It was not the LEPER that stood far off from Christ TRYING HARDER who was healed.

It was not the BLIND MAN who QUIETENED DOWN and who got Jesus attention.

It was not the TEARLESS MOTHER who saw Jesus RAISE HER BABY from the dead.

It was not the CONTENTED CRIPPLE who rest by Siloam to whom Jesus GAVE STRENGTH.

None whom Jesus saved were ever saved to be defeated once more.

2 Corinthians 2:14 Now thanks be unto God, which ALWAYS CAUSETH US to triumph in Christ…

Romans 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are MORE THAN CONQUERORS THROUGH HIM that loved us.

You cannot be saved apart from LOOKING UNTO JESUS. Salvation is more than just a cursory glance. We are to be LOOKING unto Jesus.

Isaiah 45:22-23 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. [23] I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.

a We Look Unto Jesus, Not Unto The Crowd. We are told in our text:

Hebrews 12:1-2 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, [2] Looking unto Jesus

We are to be LOOKING unto Jesus. But before we come to that part of the text what are we told?

“seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses,
let us lay aside every weight”

There are a thousand opinions on right and wrong in the crowd. There is a cloud of witnesses – a crowd around us – every day. But we are NOT to be focused on that crowd. If you ask the world an opinion on anything, and particularly on Jesus, the world will give a thousand answers. Things are worst today than in Biblical times. Today there is television and internet and mainstream media and liberality. There is a great crowd of witnesses all about telling us what is right and what is wrong. Put all that away and LOOK UNTO JESUS.

Do not run for the crowd. Do not run for the statue quo. LOOK UNTO JESUS. Run to His arms regardless as to what others may say or think. Don’t let the crowd be your controller. Let Jesus be your Christ.

b We Lay Aside Every Weight. Put away doubt and despair. The devil loves doubt and despair. He loves to convey hopelessness and lostness.

IA young boy recently entered into college stopped by his grandmother’s house. “Grandma, I’m overwhelmed. I don’t know anybody. I feel so alone. My teachers seem to hate me. The whole world seems against me.” His grandmother – a good Christian lady – said “Darling, is God dead? Is Jesus yet in the Tomb? Has He not risen? Is He not sitting on the right hand of God? Look up and reach up to Jesus before the devil drags you down to hell!”

Lay aside the doubts. The fears. The questions. LOOK unto Jesus. See Him Who:

Hebrews 12:2 LOOKING UNTO JESUS the author and finisher of our faith; who for the JOY that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Jesus went TO the Cross and then THROUGH the Cross. He was not defeatist. Jesus knew that God is in control.

Isaiah 55:8-11 ESV For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

Jesus laid His life down for you. He did not allow the momentary and temporal trials to defeat Him – praise God. Trust Him. As He laid down His life for you lay your life down for Him. Surrender your broken life to Him. Do not follow the Crowd – follow the Christ.

c Lay Aside The Sin. The Scripture says:

Hebrews 12:1… let us lay aside every weight, AND THE SIN which doth so easily beset us,

Besetting sin must go. Confess yourself a sinner before Christ, and ask Him to forgive and quench that sin from you. Christ must lead your life – not sin. Do not believe that you shall SEE GOD if you are not first LOOKING AT CHRIST and NOT SIN. We are told:

Hebrews 12:14 Follow peace with all men, and HOLINESS, without which no man shall see the Lord:

That word HOLINESS means “to be focused on being used of God”. To be HOLY is to follow CHRIST and not SELF. Your faith will not be overcoming unless sin is OUT of you and CHRIST IS IN YOU.

Illustrate We are not to be like the little girl who was overheard praying:

“Lord, please make me good, but not TOO GOOD.
Just good enough not to get a whipping.”

If you enter the Family of God by faith in Christ then you are under the loving discipline of the Father. Sin must be laid aside to be saved. Sin must be laid aside to run the race and to prosper. Sin in the unbeliever is understood. It is something that Christ came to save us from.

The Savior will not receive you if you hang on to your sin and your selfishness. The first word in the Gospel is REPENT.

Hebrews 12:15-17 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; [16] Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. [17] For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.

Esau was a selfish man who sought gratification in every moment of his life. He was supposed to receive the blessing of his father. Instead he chose to sell his birthright for a bowl of lentils, satisfying his temporary hunger. He failed the Grace of God by rejecting it and choosing the temporary. And though he later sought that Grace by tears – he could not receive it. If God speaks to your heart today do not deny Him.

Repent.

Run to His arms.

Mark 8:35-37 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it. [36] For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? [37] Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

Esau gave his soul away for a bowl of lentils. What are you giving your soul away for? Turn unto Jesus!

d Lay Aside The LAW. Salvation is all of Grace. You cannot “run with patience the race set before you” while you worry about your salvation. We are told:

Hebrews 12:18-24 For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, [19] And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more: [20] (For they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart: [21] And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:) [22] But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, [23] To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, [24] And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.

In these verses two mountains are compared – Mount SINAI where the Law was given and MOUNT ZION where Grace is given. When the Law was given only Moses went up into the mount. It was a frightening mountain, one from which came smoke and voices and lightening and if you touched it you could die. It was so frightening that Moses said “I exceedingly fear and quake”.

Some so called Christian’s religion is like that. Some who profess Christ do not know which mountain we are on.

We are on Mount Zion.

The Lord Jesus in love for us climbed that Mountain. We belong to the Kingdom of God. We who believe in Christ are one day to enter “the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels”. We are part of the “general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect”. We are loved by “Jesus the mediator of the new covenant”.

Sin has no dominion over us. Satan has no dominion over us. We belong to neither sin nor Satan, but to the Savior!

2 My Faith Must Be Actively Follow The Right PERSON.

Hebrews 12:1-2 … let us run with patience the race that is set before us, [2] Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith …

If you’re running a race your eyes are FRONT not BACK. You’re looking FORWARD. We run the race set before us LOOKING UNTO JESUS. We keep our eyes on Him as we run. The overcoming life runs following Jesus.

1 John 4:4-6 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. [5] They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. [6] We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

Jesus said in John 16:33 …. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. The only One who has EVER – in the history of all mankind – overcome the world is Jesus. When Jesus cried out

IT IS FINISHED

from the Cross it was the VICTOR’S CRY. He defeat death. He defeated the grave. He defeated the political powers that be. He defeated the devil.

Any time we get our eyes off of Jesus we will fail.

Abraham failed. He got his eyes off of Jesus and listened to Sarah. “Honey, why don’t you go into Hagar – let’s help God out!” What did he get out of it? Ishmael, and a group of people that hate God’s Israel to this day.

Moses failed. He got his eyes off of Jesus and began to focus on a complaining Israel. He struck the Rock that was Christ and lost the Promised Land because of anger and frustration.

Elijah failed. Standing on the top of Mount Carmel he singularly defeated an overwhelming foe while focused on Jesus. The Prophets of Baal were destroyed. God was vindicated. But the very next day he got his eyes on Jezebel, Satan’s bride, and fell into despair.

David failed. He who defeated Goliath when his eyes were on Jesus became a murderer and an adulterer when he kept looking at Bathsheba. He should have kept on looking at Jesus!

Peter failed. Bold Peter, brave Peter, was questioned by a milk maid. “Aren’t you one of Jesus’ disciples?” No, I am not! “Are you sure?” I am not! “But I saw you …” Then Peter curses, and the rooster crows.

I wonder if that same milk maid saw Peter on the day of Pentecost. “Why, isn’t that the man who said he didn’t know Jesus? Wasn’t he the frightened person huddled in the crow that night, scared of his own shadow. I wonder what happened to him? Now he speaks with POWER and without fear. What happened to him?” I’ll tell you what happened.

He stopped looking at the crowd and started looking at Jesus.

He stopped listening to the politically correct and started listening to the Prince of Peace and Lord of Lords.

Listen Beloved: We LIVE by faith in Christ. We STAND by faith in Christ. We WALK by faith in Christ. We walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). We are like old Jacob who commits to Christ, saying:

Genesis 28:20-21 …. If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, [21] So that I come again to my father’s house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God:

Jesus Christ is with His children. Jesus Christ meets the needs of His children. But we are to run with patience the race set before us, following Jesus our Lord.

The great Evangelist D.L. Moody told this story. A very wealthy but stingy farmer met the Lord Jesus one day and was converted, born again, gloriously saved. Soon after his conversion a poor man came to him and asked for help. The man had lost his home and all he had in a fire. The farmer offered some help, then decided to give the poor man a ham from the smokehouse. As he headed toward the house the tempter whispered “Give him the smallest ham you have”. He struggled all the way to the smokehouse trying to decided whether to give a small or a large ham. In order to defeat his selfishness he took down the largest ham and gave it to the poor man. The tempter whispered “you are a fool!” The farmer said “If you don’t keep quiet I will give him every ham I have in that smokehouse!”

Run the race with Jesus. Run the race set before you. If you are selfish, give something. If you are envious, do a good thing for the person you envy. That will kill it! If you are angry at someone, do good toward that person lest your anger be your demise.

Run with patience the race set before you. Run with Jesus. Run for Jesus. Tun knowing that Jesus is running with you.

There are eight “overcomes” in the Book of Revelation. The first is:

“To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life” (Revelation 2:7)

Run the race with Jesus. You were saved to run. There is no life to those who do not run! Leap into His arms!