Text: Amos 4:12:"Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel" (Amos 4:12).
In the fourth chapter of Amos the prophet paints a sad picture concerning the nature of Israel. They had turned from God an became a wicked and sinful nation. Despite the repeated efforts by God, they refused to repent. They faced famines, droughts, destruction of crops, pestilences and disaster upon their cities. Their punishment was likened to that done to Sodom and Gomorrah in the past but yet in verses 6, 8, 10 and 11 the same words are repeated,Yet you have not returned to Me. They ignored the God of heaven who had brought these judgements. Their cup of iniquity was full, and with their failure to repent, they now would face the judgement and punishment of God. Therefore they were admonished,Prepare to meet thy God. O Israel.
What a horrible thing to be meeting God after having lived so immorally. We might not think ourselves to be as bad as ancient Israel, but we must still seriously consider Amos admonition, Prepare to meet your God because we will all meet Him. Let us carefully consider this admonition.
"Are you ready?" is a question that we often hear. We make plans and preparations for our future, for our career, for our work, for our family. Often we make preparations ten to twenty years in advance. In spite of the uncertainty surrounding the future, there is one future event that is certain and that is our meeting with God. Immediately after death every one of us shall meet God. Are you, therefore, ready to meet your God?
Who is this God?
Who is the God which Israel is to meet? Listen to the description of him in verse 13. He is the God who forms the mountains and creates the wind. The trace of his fingers is in all of creation. He is the one who spoke everything into being. Ps. 19 states; The heaven declare the glory of God. Nature speaks of him. The mountains testify to his greatness. The Bible says only a fool would deny the existence of God. The God of the Bible is the God of the universe, who set the foundation of the world in its place and regulates the seasons.
He is also the God who declares his thoughts. The world reveals him to us; but particularly the Bible reveals him to us. He has given us his word in which he revealed to us the purposes of his grace, kindness and love. The Word of God is the anvil that has worn away many hammers. It is the place where we can find out God's thoughts toward us. Creation can tell us what God is doing but the Bible can tell us what God is thinking.
Third, he is the God that makes the morning darkness. He can turn around your situation in an instant. God can turn our day to night as much as he can make our darkness light.
Fourth, he is the God who walks over the earth�s high places. Our high places are the places on which God walks. This is the God whom we will meet. The God of creation, the God of the Bible, the God of our experience, the God to whom the earth is a footstool is more of might by far than wind, waves or billows. He is the God whose breath is devastating, and whose finger collapses the earth�s highest peaks. He is the Lord, the God of hosts.
Secondly,what is this meeting?
God's word to Israel is: you will meet your God. Israel had refused to turn willingly, so the threat is that she will come face to face with God. This is not an invitation to renew covenant, nor a call to repentance, but an announcement of a face to face confrontation.
Israel like so many today, were going to their places of worship but the very worship was displeasing to God. The reality of God's being was about to dawn: they were to be confronted with God�s holiness, his anger and his hatred of sin.
This is a solemn announcement. Christ preached the final judgement: the meeting between God and his world. The One who was judged and condemned by the world will stand over the world as its judge. We, like Israel, will meet our God.
The apostles preached the same message. Paul tells us that "we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ". Peter tells us that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night, in which the elements will melt with fervent heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up." The writer to the Hebrews tells us that it is appointed to man once to die, and after death the judgement. Jude tells us that the Lord will come "to execute judgement upon all". We, like Israel, will meet our God.
John saw it in the Book of Revelation. He saw the glorious, exalted Lamb in the midst of the throne, slain before the foundation of the world. Yet he saw that Lamb angry; he saw that Lamb gathering nations together and assigning to them an eternal portion, either in Heaven or in Hell. He saw the dead, small and great, before God: none was exempt, all were there. We, like Israel, will meet our God.
What have these earth-shattering events of the past year done to us? Like the massive Tsunami waves that swept away entire villages or the recent devastation of Grenada. Have they opened our eyes to see the uncertainty of things here in this changing world of shadows and of vanities? Have they awakened us to the reality of God? Have we confessed our sin and sought the Lord? We, like Israel, will meet our God.
Thirdly, what is this preparation?
Amos says: "Prepare to meet God". The word is spoken in the light of the opportunities lost, the message that has been rejected. But the Gospel says to us that we can prepare to meet him in judgement, with the assurance that our meeting with him will be in peace. How can we prepare to meet our God? Only by meeting him first in the Gospel. How do we do that? By meeting him, first, at Calvary. On the cross, Jesus carries our sins. He bears our curse. He tastes our death. He experiences our judgment. He meets God on behalf of his people, experiencing in his own person all that we deserve, and dying the death that we must die. He is made sin for us. All our shortcomings, sins and demerits he accounts for, so that sinners can be justified in his sight. Those who meet God at Calvary are prepared to meet him in judgement.
By meeting him, secondly, in the confession of their sins. If we confess our sins, John tells us, God will cleanse us. Have we confessed our sin to God? Wasn't that Amos' message? In 5:6 he says: "Seek the Lord, and ye shall live". Those who meet God in the confession of their sins are prepared to meet him in judgement.
By meeting him, thirdly, in the promises of his word. The judgement is inescapable: 9:1ff shows the extent of it. There is no hiding. God has touched the land. As James said: "God has visited the Gentiles, to take from them a people for his name". Those who meet God by faith in the promises of his word, are prepared to meet him in judgement.
You and I some day must meet this holy God. The prophet Amos cries, "Prepare to meet thy God" (Amos 4:12). Every man and woman must some day meet God. The rich man must meet God! The beggar must meet God ! The scholar must meet God! The illiterate man must meet God! The Prime Ministers and Presidents must meet God! Every one must meet God! The supreme question of life, then, is this: Are you ready to meet God?
None of us can tell how soon it may be that we shall meet God. Some of us may meet Him within the next twenty-four hours; more within the year; many more within five years; and within forty years almost every man and woman in this radio audience will have met God. Are you ready? If not, I implore you to get ready right now.
A PRUDENT (WISE) MAN FORSEETH THE EVIL, AND HIDETH HIMSELF, BUT THE SIMPLE PASS- ON AND ARE PUNISHED. PROVERBS 27: 12
One song writer pen these words in a hymn:"Could my tears forever flow, Could my zeal no longer know, These for sin could not atone; Thou must save, and Thou alone: In my hand no price I bring, Simply to Thy cross I cling. Rock of Ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in Thee; Let the water and the blood, From thy wounded side which flowed, Be of sin the double cure, Save from wrath and make me pure. I close with the words of this poem " I am on my way to Heaven,I want you to go there too, But if you would go there, brother,There is something you must do. You must repent of all your sins,Lead a life, both good and true, Honest in all deeds and actions,Pray for strength, His will to do. Try each day to live but closer,To the One, who died for you, Offers you both peace and pardon. From the wrongs and sins you do. Look for ways you can be helpful, To some one else, who is in need, When you help a fallen brother,It is for Christ, you've done this deed. If you search your Holy Bible Help is there for every need, There's abundant food for thought there,And advice that you should heed. It will pay you well my brother,If you turn to God today, You'll not need to fear the Judgment,On the final reckoning Day. Prepare you must, if you would meet Him. When He comes 'twill be too late,You will be, so disappointed, If you are barred from Heaven's gate
WALKING WITH GOD
Amos 3:3. Can two walk together, except they be agreed?
I believe that the greatest reason for God creating man was for fellowship. His ultimate purpose is to have a relationship that transcends a mere Creature creator relationship. The fact that the Almighty put a special touch on man than he did to the rest of creation means that he wants something from man that he does not desire from them. The scripture tells us that we were made in the likeness of God. Gen. 1:26: And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.
Why would God want man to be like himself? There has to be a special reason. Friends, no matter how much we love pets. No matter how much we love to play and have fun with them we can only do that much with them and no more. It is said that dogs are man's best friend yet there are certain limitations to our relationship with them. That is why a dog or a cat can not adequately replace a human companion. A widow can not use her pet as a substitute for her missing husband. It is a completely different being to her. She needs someone to share her day's experiences with. She needs some one to help her to work through some of the complexities of life. No animal is able to share your heartfelt emotions. That is exactly why God made man like himself so he can communicate and share his heart�s desire and love with him.
Adam and Eve must have had a wonderful relationship with the Almighty. O what blessed communion they would have shared with him in paradise. What joy they brought to the heart of God and how much they would have craved every moment spent with their creator. They were ever conscious of the presence of God. They felt secure. They felt safe. They were living in complete happiness. God was their friend. God was their companion until the fall. We read in Genesis 3 after Adam and Eve disobeyed God, the effects of sin on man's relationship with God. We read in Gen.3. And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day (this is an indication that they knew the voice of God. They heard his voice so many times that there was no doubt in their minds that it was him. Since they knew his voice it means that they accustomed to talk with him. They shared a wonderful relationship with him. They communicated with him) but what happened? We read that Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. What a sad commentary? They hid themselves. You do not hide from friends and relatives you love. You want to see them so badly that you can hardly wait for the next meeting. But Adam and his wife hid themselves. And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where [art] thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I [was] naked; and I hid myself. Fear replaced friendship. Ever since the relationship between man and God has been severed by sin fear has taken over. Can you imagine having your own child running away from you as you extend your hands to hold him?
God having had a great relationship with his people, Israel: the people whom he delivered from the hands of the Egyptians, and cared for in a desert thirsty land for forty years is now speaking through his prophet Amos about this relationship.
Through the prophet he asked: Can two walk together, except they be agreed? It is a question that was asked to convey a message. This message was that God's people were not walking in harmony with him. They were doing everything contrary to his will.
We read of some men in the Bible who walked with God. Enoch: Gen 5:22 And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters. Noah: Gen.6:9: These [are] the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man [and] perfect in his generations, [and] Noah walked with God. Abraham: Gen.17:1. And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I [am] the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. The Psalmist David knew what it means to walk with God. He said in 23rd Psalm: Thou I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. I will fear no evil because God is with me.
Walking with God is Parnership:
Fellowship came from a the word "koinonia" which refers to "comradry", or "partnership." The plain meaning of this is found in Luke 5:10 where it speaks of "Simon's partners" (NIV). Referring to partnership in ministry, Paul, in II Corinthians 8:23 writes, "As for Titus, he is my partner." (NIV)
God wants to be in partnership with you. He wants you to agree with him in everything he holds true, everything he regards as evil and everything he regards as being good. He wants to partner with you to run your life. He has a plan for you and a plan for me. Each of us was born into this world for a purpose and that purpose can only be fulfilled when we decide to surrender our wills to God. When we talk about being partners with God, it's not our work "for" God that counts, but rather our work "with" God. Much of what happens today is man's ideas being put to work with the hope of God's blessing. Let's stop doing what we think needs to be done, with God's help, and learn to understand what God is doing, and partner with Him to accomplish His purposes
What is it that hinders our fellowship with God?
1. SIN. The barrier is sin. Is. 59:1: Behold my hand is not shortened that it cannot save, neither his ear heavy that it cannot hear. But you iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins hid his face from you, that he will not hear. So the problem with fellowship with God is our sin. John puts it this way: If we say we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth. But if we walk in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sins.
2. UNGODLY ALLIANCES. We can lose fellowship with God because of certain things and people we have in our lives: 2 Cor. 6: 14-18: Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness.
You must ask your self who or what in my life is preventing me from having the kind of fellowship or communion I need with God. John reminds us that fellowship with God involves fellowship with our Christian brothers and sisters. Heb. Warns us about forsaking the assembling our selves. In order to enjoy the full blessing of fellowship with one another, there must be a willingness to be together. That means that church attendance must be a priority. Most people seem to have decided that one hour spent with brothers and sisters in church is adequate. Then they wonder why it is that they don't experience the warm relationships with others in the church they once felt.
Beyond just being together, we must be willing to work together. If you're not involved in a ministry with the church, please understand that you will often feel that you are on the outside looking in. Working together in the Lord's work should result in closeness.
We must also talk together - let's be sure that the communication is good, positive, and effective. And let's be sure that we're talking with the right people. What we all long for: warm, close fellowship, will always be damaged severely when we allow loose lips to talk about other people's business.
Do you desire to be close to God? It begins with confessing. vs. 9: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. To confess is not just to repeat words of regret but it is an attitude. It is saying to God I agree with what you say about fornication. I agree with what you say about lying and stealing. Confession is to agree with God about our sins.
A BETTER LIFE IN CHRIST
(Ephesains 1: 1-14)Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus:2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
Introduction
Are you looking for a better life? You are not alone. People everywhere today are looking for a better life. Politicians know this, because in every General election, candidates declare how they will lead our country so we can all have a better life. Marketing advisors know this, for it seems that every commercial we see tries to convince us that if we just had this or that product we'd have a better life. Colleges and universities are filled with people looking for a better life.
However, the way to a better life is not found in politicians, money, success, or any other temporal thing. A better life has nothing to do with the homes in which we live or the cars we drive. The only way to a better life is found in Jesus Christ and in understanding whom we are, what we have in Him, and how to acquire it.
Jesus very clearly said, "I am come that ye might have life, and that ye might have it more abundantly." Some folks think that this means that Jesus wants us to have all the stuff we want. Jesus clearly taught that the abundant life is not about things, but rather is about a quality of life found only in Him. It is not enough to know we are Christians. There is so much more. Our lives are a journey, and on our journey to a better life we must understand three basic facts about ourselves.
In Christ you are a saint. (1-3)
What is a saint? The dictionary defines a saint as one who is a very holy person; one who is pure in heart and upright in life. While the world around us freely uses this definition, we need to understand how misleading it is. The Bible writers chose a word that means "holy ones, righteous ones, those who have been separated from the rest."
A saint is any and every born again child of God. The moment you repent of your sin and place your faith in Christ you are clothed in the righteousness of Christ, you are set apart and are holy in the eyes of God. Though we have been born again we still have a sin nature, we still mess up, and we still fail. There are days and times when we don't feel saved, we don't feel like saints, but your being a saint has nothing to do with your feelings. It has everything to do with your eternal position in heaven.
You may say, "I don't feel holy; I don't feel worthy to be a saint." What you need to question is whether you really are. Are you sure of your salvation? Are you living like a saint? You may have these feelings because you are living in sin and need to do something about it. But you may have these feelings when there is nothing really the matter. None of us is worthy, but God has made us worthy. That's why Paul wrote of us as being in Christ Jesus. The devil will try to tell you otherwise. "You're so bad, you're so unworthy, God can't love you, and He can't use you...Don't believe it! They're lies from the pit of Hell.
IS IGNORANCE AN EXCUSE? 18TH SEPTEMBER, 2005
TEXT: Rom.1:20: For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.
Introduction: I found a very interesting poem that I would like to share with you and it�s about excuses people use for not going to church:
Excuses, excuses, you hear them everyday. Now, the devil he'll supply them, if from church you stay away. When people come to know the Lord, the devil always loses, So to keep them folks away from church, he offers them excuses! In the summer, it's too hot, and in the winter, it's too cold. And in the springtime, when the weather's just right, You find some place else to go. Well, it's up to the mountain Or down to the beach or to visit some old friend, Or just to stay home and kinda relax and hope some of the kinfolks drop in. Well, the church bench is too hard, and that choir sings way too loud. And, boy, you know how nervous you can get when your settin' in a great big crowd. The doctor told you you'd better watch them crowds, they'll set you back, But you go to that ballgame, cause you say it helps you to relax. Well, you have a headache Sunday morning and a backache Sunday night. By worktime Monday morning, you're feeling quite all right. Well, one of the children has a cold, pneumonia, do you suppose? Why the whole family had to stay home, just to blow that poor kids nose! The preacher, he's too young, maybe he's too old. His sermons, they're not fired enough, or maybe their too bold. His voice is much too quiet, sometimes he gets too loud, He needs to have more dignity or else he's way too proud. His sermons, they're too long. Maybe, they're too short. He ought to preach the Word with dignity, instead of stomp and snort. Well, that preacher we got must be the world's most stuck up man. Why, one of the members told me the other day, "Why, he didn't even shake my hand."
One day all men would have to face the inescapable judgment of God and I believe there would be many excuses as to why people did not worship and obey him in their life time. It�s foolish to think that we can argue with God. Some think that because they have made so many excuses and got away with different things: such absence from work, or being late on the job or committing a traffic offence. I believe there are those who are thinking that just in case they have to stand before God in judgment they would have some reasonable explanation as to why they have not given their lives to him. My friends, it is not if but when you stand before God in judgment, what would your excuse be?
A very common excuse used today especial in traffic is, �I did not know.� Do you think it would be justifiable to say to God, I did not know? Would you be able to stand before God and say,�Lord I did not know you. I did not understand. I did not have a preacher. No body told me so?� The writer of the Romans argues that no one would be able to claim ignorance as a valid excuse. In fact you would be dumb founded before the Almighty.
The excuse of lack of knowledge would not stand. One can not say they did not have enough information about God. My friends you have more information about God than many people in the world. You have more information than people living in countries where it is illegal to preach the gospel.
This is an news item I read recently: On July 28, 2005 hostile spectators filled a courtroom in West Java, Indonesia, a staunchly Muslim province. This was the fifth hearing in a controversial trial against three Christian women, Rebekka Zakaria, Eti Pangesti and Ratna Bangun. They are being formally charged with attempting to convert Muslim children to Christ through a Christian education program. In Indonesia anyone found guilty of attempting to convert children may be imprisoned for up to five years, and/or fined up to 100 million rupiah ($10,226). In this region, Christian communities are often refused permits to build churches or to worship in rented facilities -- and therefore meet together in private homes.
Even if you have not had a preacher or the bible read to you, you would be held accountable. Yes you will. God is satisfied that man has enough information about himself to make a conscious decision to worship him as God whether he lives in the jungles of Africa or in a modern society. What a privilege the Great Almighty God chose to make himself known. He did not have to.
1. God can be known through judgment against ungodliness. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. Paul is implying here that God is at work in this world. He dispenses judgment in the here and now. This is what we call retributive justice. We have seen wicked people having to pay dearly for there wicked deeds. Sometimes the very things they did to others are returned to them seven fold. We often use the word, �the evil that men do live after them.� I am sure that you can point at someone in your community who has received just payment for the life he or she has lived. If we are willing to wait long enough we would see the end of the wicked. What does this have to do with knowing God? It is evident that there is one who dispenses justice and ensures that wickedness is rewarded.
2. God is known in nature.
For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.
How can one look at the things around them seeing the order in nature and not give credit to a great and awesome rational being. The argument is that creation reveals the attributes of God. Moses knew God before he knew his name. The psalmist David said in Psalm 19. The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. 2 Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge. 3 There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard. 4 Their *line has gone out through all the earth,And their words to the end of the world.
But what do men do with this limited revelation? Although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man--and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.
They resorted to idolatry. They gave the glory of God to created things. This is a violation of the first commandment. There ought to be a reason why the commandment against idolatry is first in the list of the Ten Commandments. All the other commandments are hinged on this commandment.
Idolatry is an assault on the attributes of God. It is putting limits on the omnipotent, omnipresent, immutable, everlasting and sovereign God.
What was the result or should I ask the motive behind idolatry? Paul said: 4 Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, 25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen
In idolatry the idolater wants a God that he can manipulate: A god without power, a god that will have no control on his life, a God who would not judge his deeds. Note the language. God gave them up to uncleaness etc. It is clear that they were bent on committing evil. This is exactly the same reason why many are rejecting God today.
3. God makes himself known by putting into man a conscience.
2 For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law 14 for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, 15 who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them) 16 in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel.
There is a moral law in all of us and this law is brought to us by our conscience. Even a kindergarten child knows about fair play, because the moral laws are innate. Thanks God for conscience.
Alexander Solzhenitsyn: Justice is conscience, not a personal conscience but the conscience of the whole of humanity. Those who clearly recognize the voice of their own conscience usually recognize also the voice of justice.
Carl Jung: Through pride we are ever deceiving ourselves. But deep down below the surface of the average conscience a still, small voice says to us, 'Something is out of tune.'
Christopher Reeve: I think we all have a little voice inside us that will guide us. It may be God, I don't know. But I think that if we shut out all the noise and clutter from our lives and listen to that voice, it will tell us the right thing to do.
4. God made himself known through Jesus.
Col.15-18: He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.
Christ is the greatest revelation of God. Creation is limited, the conscience is limited. But Jesus is the real thing. He is God himself.
The writer of the Hebrews put it this way: who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had *by Himself purged *our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. HEB.1:3-4
My friends, you have all that you need to know about God and he is going to hold you accountable for the knowledge that you have of him. The writer of the Hebrews asked: �How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?�
PILLAR OF TRUTH MINISTRIES (SVG) 
