BEING A CHRISTIAN
IS NOT EASY STREET
Amos 6:4-8, 11-14
BLESSINGS ARE GIVEN TO PASS ON
V:4. " You lie on beds inlaid with ivory and lounge on
your couches. You dine on choice lambs and fattened calves."
A. Apparently doing
this time, there were some well to do Jews.
1. They were
pampering themselves rather than promoting God's commands.
2. God allows us
to gain wealth and acquire possessions.
3. He did say that
He would give us our hearts desire. Ps
20:4.
4. The Word does
say that the blessing of the Lord brings wealth and He adds no
trouble to
it. Prob 10:22
B. God did not give
us what we have, to hoard it at expense of the needs of others.
1. God blesses us
so that we can be a blessing to others in need.
2. God made a
promise to us that we will reap what we sow.
V:5. " You strum away on your harps like David and
improvise on musical instruments."
A. Men have become
lovers of all kinds of music.
1. The wrong
music can dull the senses to the praise and worship of the Lord.
2. We have to be careful what we listen to.
3. Music can be suggestive of all kinds of
evil.
B. As Christians, we
have a responsibility to heighten our love for the Lord
with music that
is a testimony to the goodness of Him.
1. God commands
us to give Him praise in song. Ps 28.7
2. We are
encouraged to use musical instruments and songs to praise the Lord.
Ps 81:2,
92:1-3
3. We must be
careful to lend our voices and musical talents to the praise of
the Lord.
4. If we are not
praising the Lord, we are praising the devil.
V:6. " You drink
wine by the bowlful and use the finest lotions, but you do not grieve over the
ruin of Joseph."
A. There is nothing
wrong with drinking wine as long as we do it in moderation. Ph 4:5
1. We are
commanded not to get drunk with wine.
Eph 5:18
2. In the New
Testament days, wine was used as medicine for the stomach
and other
illnesses. 1 Tim 5:23
3. Wine was also
used as antiseptic. Luke 10:24
4. Wine was the
everyday drink of the Jews. Luke 5:37
B. Jesus turned water
into wine at a wedding celebration. John
4:46
1. At the last
supper with His disciples, Jesus used wine to represent the
blood that He
would shed on the cross for our sins.
2. We are
commanded to drink wine in communion to remind us of the
saving power
of the Blood of Jesus.
C. We should be
grieved when our brothers and sisters in Christ are
insensitive to
their sins against God.
1. The Israelite's were commanded to do everything written in
the Book of the Law
to prosper. Jos 1:8
2. The more we pleasure ourselves, the more we become
prideful and
insensitive to
our walk with Jesus.
3. Wine and pleasure can easily be the tools of the devil to
influence
us into the
ways of the world.
AN INACTIVE MINISTRY HAS CONSEQUENCES
V:7. " Therefore
you will be among the first to go into exile; your feasting and lounging will
end."
A. We cannot be
satisfied with saying that we are saved by our faith in Christ.
1. When we first
believed, we were saved, sanctified, justified and redeemed from our
sins.
2. We became babes
in Christ with the ability to grow in the spirit.
B. Faith without
works is dead. James 2:26
1. We were made
ministers for Christ to labor for the sake of the Gospel.
2. It was Jesus
who said, the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few.
3. God did not
intend for us to be on easy street in our salvation.
4. Jesus said, take up your cross and follow
me.
5. He never said
sit on your cross and enjoy the music.
6. Jesus promised
that we will face trials and tribulations following Him.
a. We have to
learn to see trouble as a way to our joy.
James 1:2.
b. Struggling
through our troubles perfects us in Jesus.
James 1:4
GOD HATES THE PROUD
V:8. " The Sovereign Lord has sworn by himself — the
Lord God Almighty declares: "I abhor the pride of Jacob and detest his
fortresses; I will deliver up the city and everything in it."
A. God hates the
proud. Prob 16:5
1. It was pride
that cause Lucifer, better known as Satan , an angel of the Lord
to sin against God and be cast out of
heaven.
a. Satan was
cast out of heaven and became the lord of the flies, Beelzebub.
Mat 10:25
b. Satan is
the father of lies and the king of darkness.
John 8:44
2. We have to
check our pride at the door of righteousness and take on humbleness.
B. The Lord will not
tolerate our prideful behavior.
1. The Lord brings
down the proud and lifts up the humble.
2. We have nothing
to be prideful of, because everything we have comes from the Lord.
C. In all that we
have and in all that we are, we must give honor to the Lord.
1. Pride is the road to destruction.
2. Pride focuses
on the individual. Humbleness focuses on the Lord.
3. Pride sees us
as important. Humbleness sees us as nothing and others as more
than us.
4. Pride gives us
the glory. Humbleness gives God the Glory.
V:9. If ten men are left in one house, they too will die."
A. The pride of Israel
led them to ignore God's commands and take on the habits
of the world.
1. The pride of Israel
led them to denounce God in their hearts and to take idols made
with their
hands as their gods.
2. God is
long suffering.
a. He gave Israel
hundreds of years of warnings about the consequences of their
disobedience, before He destroyed all but a remnant of them. (700 years)
b. He
destroyed their cities, and the temple in Jerusalem .
B. All have sinned
and fall short of the glory of God.
1. We can't
afford to get comfortable with ourselves.
2. We must
continue to grow in the knowledge and the wisdom of the Lord.
3. We should
continue to seek the high calling of Jesus Christ. Phil 3:14
LISTEN TO GOD
V:10. " And if a
relative who is to burn the bodies comes to carry them out of the house and
asks anyone still hiding there, "Is anyone with you?" and he says,
"No," then he will say, "Hush! We must not mention the name of
the Lord."
A. Israel was so caught up in their idol worship and their
unrighteousness that they
could not hear
the voice of the Lord.
1. They knew the
Word.
2. They had God's
prophets among them.
3. But they refused
to listen.
B. You can't willfully ignore God's Word and prosper.
1. You know you are
headed down hill when your conscience want convict you of your
sins.
2. You know you are
on the wrong road when you listen to everyone but God.
V:11. " For the Lord has given the command, and he will
smash the great house into pieces and the small house into bits."
A. You must know
without a shadow of a doubt, that God will do exactly what He
said He will do. God cannot lie.
1. We are all work
in progress.
2. God gives us
time to get right with Him.
B. The blood Jesus shed on the cross atoned for our sins,
past, present and future.
1. It is only by
Grace that God has not destroyed us.
2. Justice demands
our death, mercy gives us eternal life.
3. God will
chastise those that He loves.
4. Our
chastisement is not unto death, but to prefect us in the Lord.
DON'T MAKE LIFE DIFFICULT
V:12. " Do
horses run on the rocky crags? Does one plow there with oxen? But you have
turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into
bitterness."
A. Sin make this
journey in life rough.
1. Hardships
follow sin.
2. I remember a
song, O what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry
everything to God in prayer (What A Friend
We Have In Jesus).
B. A faithless
Christian is a troubled individual.
1. A faithless
Christian is lost in the sea of sin.
2. A faithless Christian
lives without the power of God.
C. A disobedient
Christian, lives in the bitterness of life without the joy of the Lord.
1. A disobedient
Christian poison his/her own life.
2. A disobedient
Christian believes the lie that since God loves him, there is no
punishment for
his/her sins.
3. Life can be a
bitter pill without Jesus as your hope.
GIVE GOD THE CREDIT
V:13. You who rejoice in the conquest of Lo
Debar and say, "Did we not take
Karnaim by our own strength?"
A. One way of
dishonoring God is to claim for yourself the credit that is do God.
1. If you say, I
woke myself up this morning, you lie.
2. If God
withholds His breath from you, death is certain.
B. The Word says, I
can do all thing through Christ who strengthen me.
1. The truth is,
we can do nothing and accomplish nothing without Christ.
2. Man can make
plans, but God gives the increase. 1
Cor 3:6-7
STIR UP YOUR LOVE FOR GOD
V:14. " For the Lord God Almighty declares, "I
will stir up a nation against you, O house of Israel, that will oppress you all
the way from Lebo Hamath to the valley of the Arabah."
A. A fool says in his
heart; there is no God. Psalms 14:1
1. If you decide
not to obey God, He can give you over to your own evil desires.
2. When God takes
His hand off you, Satan will have his way.
Rom 1:28
B. God can stir up
your enemies against you.
1. I realize that
in spite of my sinfulness, it is God that keeps me alive.
2. We are not here
on our own, but because God has a purpose for our lives. Ph 1:6
C. The Church should
be stirring up the gifts that God has giving us,
to proclaim the
Gospel of Jesus Christ. 2 Tim 1:6
1. We should stir
up the gift of love.
2. We should stir
up the gift of compassion,
3. We should stir
up the gift of God's grace.
4. We should stir
up the gift of God's mercy.
5. We should stir
up the spirit of unity.
6. We should stir
up peace.
7. We should stir
up joy.
8. We should stir
up the desire to be God's servants.
9. We should stir
up good stewardship.
10. We should stir
up the excitement of Bible study.
STIR UP YOUR LIFE IN GOOD WORKS
Rev. M. Mitchell, Asst
Pastor of Greater Macedonia Baptist
Church
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