Title: Wake up America
Text: Amos 1:1, 2:1-16.
Date: 9/1/02
Location: Sulphur Spring Baptist Church
Introduction: During my first year of Seminary I had a professor named Joel Drinkard who taught Old Testament. One day he came in and passed out something that gave me an idea for a sermon that I have entitled: “Wake Up America.” I have had the opportunity to preach this particular sermon in several different churches during the last 12 years, including Sulphur Spring. However, with the one-year anniversary of the Terrorist attacks of September 11th, coming up soon I felt it would be good to share an updated version of this message with you.
Turn with me to Amos 2:1-16.
Amos was not a professional preacher; in fact he was a shepherd and fig tree farmer. He lived in a small town called Tekoa, which was located about 11 miles from the city of Jerusalem. But God called Amos to be a prophet and gave him a very important message to give to the nation of Israel. Amos made his prophecies during the reign of Jeroboam II, probably between the years of (760-750 B.C.) During this period of time both the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah enjoyed great prosperity, and reached new political and military heights. But it was also a time of idolatry, extravagant living, immorality, and judicial corruption. Israel was politically secure and spiritually smug. They were content in their immorality and comfortable in their sin. They were confident they were in the good graces of God.
Amos’ began his prophecy by prophesying about the fates of Israel’s enemies and neighbors. Then when he had the attention of the people, he began prophesying about God’s future judgment and condemnation upon the nation of Israel. God had lost his patience with His unfaithful, disobedient, and covenant breaking people. Amos’ prophecy warned of God’s immanent judgment upon the nation of Israel.
The judgment would be devastating to the people of Israel, but it was not without hope. There would be a remnant left in Israel who would repent of their sins and turn back to God, and as a result , God would have mercy on them. In fact He had a glorious future in store for Israel. The house of David would be restored to the throne and the people of Israel would once again be feasting on wine and fruit in the promise land.
I personally believe there are many similarities to the Israel of 750 BC and 21st Century America. In the view of most people today the United States is the only remaining Super Power in the World. With the fall of Communism, American Democracy has established itself as the form of government by which all others are measured.
Although the American economy has been a little sluggish the last couple of years it is still one of the strongest in the World. In fact what happens in our stock market effects other markets and people all around the world. The very fact that thousands of illegal aliens cross our border every day tells me that people are willing to do anything for a chance to live and work in the United States of America, even if it means breaking the law to do it.
Our military, which had lost some of its respect in the world community, has once again proven itself to be the best-trained and most sophisticated army in the World. They did what many people said couldn’t be done, something that the mighty Soviet Union’s military was not able to do. They defeated the Taliban in Afghanistan, and one of the things that surprised me was how quickly they were able to do it.
But unfortunately the picture of America is not as bright as it may first appear. Crime and violence continue to increase. Especially violence and crimes committed against our children and young people. School shootings like the one at Columbine High School a few years ago have taken the lives of too many of our children and young people. Recently there has been an epidemic of child abductions taking place. Elizabeth Smart’s father appealed to the American public again this week asking for people to pray for his daughter and asking for anyone with information about her whereabouts to contact the police. As most of you know Elizabeth was taken out of her bedroom at gunpoint, while her younger sister watched and while her parents slept in the room down the hall. As a father of three young girls this disturbs me.
But something that is even more disturbing for me as a pastor is that the spiritual outlook of America is darker now than it has ever been before. I agree with Christian Author, Tony Campolo, who recently said, "something has happened to all of us spiritually. Putting it into Biblical language, it seems as though America itself has lost its soul. Something about our collective psyche has died. Apathy and numbness appear to have crept into all of our churches."
I wonder what his message to us would be if Amos was prophesying in America today. I want us to consider that question this morning. The remainder of this Sermon is written in the same form and literary style that Amos used in 750 B.C.
These are the words of Amos, prophet of Jehovah God, which he saw concerning America in the days of George W. Bush, President of the United States, and in the days of Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, and in the days of Tony Blair, Prime Minister of Great Britain, 2 years after the New Millennium, and one year after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
THUS SAYS THE LORD GOD, THE FATHER OF OUR SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST:
For three transgressions of China and for four, I will not revoke the punishment;
Because you have brought down war after war on the nations of Southeast Asia,
Because you continually oppress your own people.
So I will destroy the strength of China;
Your young people I will rise up in rebellion.
They will reject the beliefs and traditions of your elders and they will demand change.
Your great wall which for years has stood as a symbol of Chinese Imperialism will be totally destroyed, not one stone will be left on top of another.
SO SAYS THE LORD.
THUS SAYS THE LORD GOD ALMIGHTY:
For three transgressions of Iraq and for four, I will not revoke the punishment;
Because you continue to support terrorism around the world,
Because you harbor criminals and have killed thousands of your own people in the name of religion.
Because your government, like Babylon of old is calling for the destruction of my people Israel and all of those who support her.
Therefore, you will once again experience the ravages of war. And your great oil reserves shall fan the fires of your doom.
SO, SAYS THE LORD GOD.
THUS SAYS THE LORD GOD ALMIGHTY:
For three transgressions of North Korea and for four, I will not revoke the punishment;
Because you continue to promote communism and a godless society;
Because you spend your money building up your military and producing weapons of mass destruction while your people are starving to death and living in poverty.
Because you have sold and continue to sell weapons of all kinds to rogue nations and terrorists.
Because for over 50 years you have been a constant threat to those around you. As a result of these and other transgressions your government will fall, and the people of Korea will once again know that I am God.
SO SAYS THE CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE.
THUS SAYS THE LORD GOD, THE FATHER OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST:
For three transgressions of Great Britain and for four I will not revoke the punishment;
because you have set Protestant against Catholic in Northern Ireland, each believing that they are right and the other is wrong.
Because your people are more interested in the sins of the Royal Family than they are about the Forgiveness of The King of Kings.
Because you have turned away from my Word,
vacated my churches and ignored my prophets.
So you are destined to be brought down and humiliated;
You who pride yourself on not being invaded for so long, will fall,But not from an external invasion will you fall, but from internal rot and decay.
SO SAYS THE KING OF KINGS.
THUS SAYS THE LORD OUR GOD,
For three transgressions of America and for four, I will not revoke the punishment;
Because you like to think of yourself as a Christian nation, yet you refuse to allow your children to pray at School.
Because you spend millions of dollars to take care of convicted killers
yet you allow thousands of unborn babies to be murdered every year,
Because you have abused and misused the natural resources of the world to satisfy your own selfish desires.
Because your moral values are based on soap operas and t.v. talk shows rather than on My Word. So you too will suffer for your sins.
Your Bread Basket will become a dust-bowl;
Your Heartland will be devastated by floods;
Your vast forests will burn like the fires of Hell.
Your cities and towns alike will continue to suffer from all kinds of terrorist attacks. You are Big ..., and when you fall,
you will fall hard. SO, SAYS THE LORD.
Hear this word which the Lord has spoken against you. You and you especially have I blessed, out of all the nations of the earth;
Therefore I will punish you all the more for your iniquities.
Does any effect happen without a cause?
Does a gun fire unless the trigger is pulled?
Does a light come on unless the switch is thrown?
Does God punish without giving the opportunity for repentance?
When a lion roars, how can we keep from being afraid?
When lightning flashes, how can we keep from being frightened?
Why is it then that when God speaks we continue to ignore His warnings.
WAKE UP AMERICA !!!!
You fill your movies and televisions with violence,and then wonder why your children are killing one another in school.
You fill the Internet with child pornography and then wonder why so Many children and young people are being abducted.
You saturate the airways with beer commercials, and openly drink alcohol in front of your children and then you wonder why America has so many teenage alcoholics.
Look at all the deaths that are caused by drugs and alcohol,Look at all the crimes that are committed by those under their influence,Yet, there are still some among you who still refuse to admit that there is even a problem.
SO SAYS THE LORD,
I have given you warning after warning.
In times past I sent my prophets to the People of Israel but they didn’t listen to them, in fact they even killed some of them.
Today, I have sent preachers and evangelists alike to America yet you like Israel of Old have ignored their messages, you have fallen into Satan’s snare.
But even after all of my warnings you still refuse to return to your first love.
SO SAYS YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER.
I have given you historians, so that you could learn the lessons of history, yet you still follow the paths of Rome and Sparta, the paths of Napoleon and Hitler.
Look at the ruins of former civilizations, O America.Where is the grandeur of the Roman Empire now? Where is the glory that Athens once enjoyed?
What remains of the Empires of Assyria, Babylon, Persia, or Egypt.A ruin here, a broken Coliseum there, the shell of the Acropolis and a few pyramids scattered across the land.
WAKE UP AMERICA !!!!
Look at all that remains,
Look at what your future will be if you Don’t Repent and return to me.
SO SAYS THE GOD OF YOUR FOREFATHERS.
Woe to you who claim to be Christians,
yet you delight more in the things of the world than you do in my Word.
You have forgotten that Heaven and Earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
I hate and despise your so called "worship services" I am weary of your insincere prayers and your songs which you sing without meaning.
I long to hear you "make a joyful noise and to Praise my name," instead of simply going through the motions.
America, Don’t bother bringing me your tithes and offerings, or your special missions offerings, until you change your habits, for your churches are filled with hypocrites and modern day Pharisee’s.
It’s time for the church of America to stop playing church and start Being the Church..........SO SAYS THE GOD OF HEAVEN AND EARTH
THUS SAYS THE LORD OF LORDS.
Woe to you who are content with your own life. While your friends and neighbors live and die in their sin. You have access to the Gospel that can change the World,but you haven’t even allowed it to change your own lives.
Woe to you who would rather see you child win a trophy that can be broken or tarnished, than to see them accept Christ as their Savior and receive a reward
that will never tarnish and can never be taken away from them.
WAKE UP AMERICA !!!
You speak of the sins of the younger generation,
but are you not the ones who have set the example for them.
SO SAYS THE LORD YOUR GOD.
Woe to you who put your faith in material things,
you whose only concern is money, and the things that money can buy.
Can you buy love?
Can you by happiness?
Can you buy Forgiveness?
Can you buy Eternal Life?
What does it profit, my friends, if you gain the whole material world,
and yet lose your eternal soul?
Hear My Word church members of America,
You who attend every service just to be seen of men,
you have your reward.
You who pray loudly and eloquently in public,
but are tyrants in private, you have your reward.
WAKE UP AMERICA !!!
I am not impressed with fake piety or
Large Study Bibles that you carry around but never open.
I seek faithfulness and righteousness.
I seek holiness and personal relationships,
I am not concerned with how many Scripture verses you can quote,
unless you allow those verses to change your life.
Wake Up America!!!
Repent...... Ask forgiveness ......and seek the face of the Lord our God.
Turn from the wrath of God while you still have time,
For you know not when The Son of Man will return.
He will return like a thief in the night,
In the twinkling of an eye,
Watch and Pray so that you will not be caught unprepared.
I have promised that if you will humble yourselves and pray, and seek my face and turn from your wicked ways that I will hear your prayers, that I will forgive you of your sins and I will heal your land.
Therefore the decision is yours America. You can repent of your sins and return to me, and I will once again bless your nation, or you can continue to disobey me and suffer the consequences.
SO SAYS THE LORD YOUR GOD.
As we approach the anniversary date of the worst terrorist attack the United States has ever faced I think it would be wise of us to reflect on what has taken place during the last year. Immediately following the terrorist attacks there was not only an outpouring of Patriotism but there was a slight stirring of Revival. People who hadn’t been in church in years came to worship and pray. However, it didn’t last. Before the rubble had all been cleared away from ground zero, most Americans had gone back to their normal routine, which for far to many doesn’t include church. In some respects Islam has benefited more from the terrorist attacks than Christianity has during the last year. The University of North Carolina is requiring every college freshman to read a book on the Quaran.
God has blessed our nation more than any other nation in the history of the world, yet we like the nation of Israel have turned our backs on Him and are worshipping other gods. I was really hoping that September 11th, would lead to the Revival and Spiritual awakening that we as a nation desperately need. But it didn’t. now I agree with Thomas Jefferson who once said, “I shudder when I think about the condition of our nation because I know God’s wrath will not sleep forever.”
1. I think each of us needs to take a long hard look at our own relationship to God this morning.
A. Are we Living for Him, or are we living in Sin?
B. Is our relationship to God our Top Priority, or have we allowed someone or
something else to take His place.
2. What Kind of Christian witness do we have?
A. Are we So content with our own Salvation that it doesn’t concern
us that those we know and love are dying and going to Hell.
B. Parents have we become more concerned that our children be involved in
little league and participating in school activities than in Sunday School?
C. Adults are we setting a good Christian Example for our young people,
Or are we teaching them that their relationship to Jesus Christ really isn’t that
important.
3. Do we come to church to Worship God or to be seen by men?
4. Are our Prayers really sincere..... or do we just use the same old meaningless words?
5. Do we sing the hymns to Glorify our Father in Heaven? Or just to hear ourselves sing?
6. Do we give our tithes and offerings because we love the Lord, Or out of obligation or habit?
