1. God’s first response is He speaks His warning
2. God’s second response is He shows His witness
3. God’s third response is He sends His weapon
4. God’s fourth response is He separates His wheat
Anybody who has been married for more than five minutes knows that there are some things you can say and some things you can’t say to your spouse. You know that certain things you say will get certain responses. Sometimes it’s not even the words you say, it’s how you say them. But you know how to get certain responses. Well, if you haven’t gotten all that figured out yet, and are still getting the wrong responses from your spouse, I’m here to help. I’m going to give you a quick lesson in interpreting what your spouse really means by the words they say. That way when you hear the words, you can interpret them the right way and respond appropriately. The first lesson is for you husbands. When your wife says: “It’s your decision.” She really means, “I think I’ve made it perfectly clear what the correct decision is.” When she says, “Do whatever you want.” She really means, “You’ll pay for this later.” When she says, “I’ll be ready in a minute. She really means, “Kick off your shoes and find a good game on TV—it’ll be a while.” When she says, “You have to learn to communicate.” She really means, “Just agree with me and everything will be fine.” And when she says, “Nothing.” She really means, “Everything.” OK, do you have it down? Now it’s the ladies’ turn. Once you get these down, you’ll always be able to respond to your husband the right way. When he says, ‘I’m hungry.” He really means, "I’m hungry.” When he says, "I’m sleepy.” He really means, "I’m sleepy.” When he asks you, "What’s wrong?” He really means, "I don’t see why you’re making such a big deal about this.” And finally, when you finally convince him to go shopping with you and he says, "I like that one better.” He really means, “Would you just hurry up and pick one, so we can go home!” But seriously, how we respond to things is important. As certainly as Newton’s Law that every action has an equal and opposite reaction, certain actions bring on certain responses. Part of the reason for that is that we are created in the image of God. And that’s the way God is. Certain actions on our part always illicit certain responses from God. God is pleased when we make much of His Son. He is pleased when we worship Him with a sincere and obedient heart. He always blesses His Word. He is pleased when we show His love for us in the way we love one another. He is pleased when we offer ourselves as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable unto Him. Those are things that we do which bring on a favorable response from God. But there are also things we do which bring on an unfavorable response from God. Of course we know about the things we personally do that displease God. Any personal sin that we commit displeases Him. But what about corporately? Are there corporate sins that displease God? When we look at the spiritual state of our nation, I believe it displeases God greatly. Especially considering the tremendous way He has blessed us. When we look at the state of the American church as a whole, I don’t think that God can be pleased. Especially considering the way He’s blessed us. But what about our church? Are we as a body pleasing to God? What kind of a response will God bring on us? God has certainly blessed us. He has blessed us with wonderful facilities. He has blessed us with good people. He has blessed us with resources. He has blessed us with the support of other churches. And He has blessed us with work to do. Israel was certainly blessed by God as well. But what did Israel choose to do with all the blessings God had given them? They chose to rebel. And God responds to rebellion. Just as sure as God responds well to obedience, He responds harshly to rebellion. Whether we’re talking about ancient Israel, modern nations, or our local church, God always responds harshly when those He has blessed rebel against Him. This isn’t as much a message to each of us individually. Instead it is a message to us as a corporate body. I want our church as a whole to see the high cost of rebellion tonight. And when we do, as opposed to Israel, I want us to hear and heed God’s warning before it’s too late. In order to do that, we’re going to look at God’s four responses when those He has blessed rebel against Him. The first response is He speaks His warning. Look at 1-7:
AMOS 3:1-7
God’s first response is He speaks His warning. All through this prophesy, God’s warning is compared to a lion roaring. The question is, when does a lion roar? Does he roar when he’s sneaking up on his prey? No, if he did, it would give the prey an opportunity to run away. He doesn’t roar to scare off his prey. He only roars when the catch is inevitable. His roar is a roar of victory and inevitability. When God is roaring His warning to Israel, His judgment is inevitable. Remember back to what we talked about last week about “three transgressions and for four?” Remember how that spoke of God’s tremendous longsuffering in dealing with the nations? God allowed them to sin to their capacity. At that point He should have judged them. But He graciously waited for them to repent. But they didn’t. They kept sinning to the point of overflowing. They thumbed their nose at God’s grace and rebelled even more. Now, God’s judgment is inevitable. He has pronounced it and it will happen. Now, God once again shows His love and grace by letting them know what’s going to happen. He is warning them of the inevitable wrath to come. In verse 1, He reminds them of what He had done for them. He shows them that their rebellion in the face of past miracles makes His judgment inevitable. How could people who had seen the awesome miracles of God turn from Him? They saw the plagues of Egypt. They saw the parting of the Red Sea. They saw the cloud before them in the daytime and the fire before them at night. How could they see those miracles and still rebel against God? In verse 2, God reminds the people of their calling. God called out Israel a nation before Abraham even had any children. He called them out specifically as His chosen people. He blessed them and gave them land. He gave them victory over their enemies and rest from war. How could a group of people who were specifically called out by God as His people turn their back on Him? God performed miracles and they rebelled. He called them out and specifically chose them as His and they rebelled. How could they do that? Maybe, before we point our finger at Israel, we need to look at ourselves. Has God performed miracles in the forming and building of our church? Do you believe that God has called us out specifically as His local church in this area? So, how can we continue to rebel against Him? Well, maybe the question we need to ask is: Are we in rebellion? Do we rebel against God? Well, let’s see. Are we impacting our area for Christ like God has called us to? Let me put it this way. Can we look at a time in the past when we had a greater impact for Christ that we do now? Why? Do we look more at reasons why things have gone wrong in the past than on what God has done for us in the past? Is our focus more on patching up petty problems than on seeking and obeying God’s will for us? If it is, then how long will God’s patience with us last? How long will it be before we hear Him roar? Because when He roars His warning, judgment is inevitable. In verses 3-7, God gives 8 real-life analogies that illustrate the conclusion He reaches in verse 8. And for Israel, the conclusion was sad. And it was final. The conclusion to God’s warning was that His inevitable judgment is here. And it’s here now. It’s kind of like that old movie Billy Jack, where he said, “I’m going to take my right foot and hit you on the right side of your face and there ain’t nothing you can do about it.” The lion hath roared. God’s longsuffering had expired. His time of grace for the nation had ended. God had richly blessed the nation. They continued in rebellion. God would now judge. God’s first response when those He has blessed rebel against Him is He speaks His warning. His second response is He shows His witness. Look in verses 9-10:
AMOS 3:9-10
God’s second response is He shows His witness. When God was going to pour out His judgment on Israel, He wasn’t going to do it in a dark corner where nobody would notice. He was going to do it out in the open. And He was going to call in witnesses. Were the witnesses the angels? Were they people who were more godly than Israel? No. The witnesses to Israel’s judgment were godless, pagan nations. God called in the Philistines (Ashdod) and the Egyptians. And not only were they godless, pagan nations. They were nations that God had delivered Israel from. Under Moses He delivered them from the Egyptians. Under many of the judges and kings, including Samson and David, He delivered them from the Philistines. And now they would be called by God to witness Israel’s judgment. Notice where God called them to watch from. He told them to assemble on the mountains of Samaria. Samaria was the capital of Israel. That was where they built their temple when the kingdom divided between them and Judah. The real temple was in Jerusalem, the capital of Judah. But Israel’s temple was in Samaria. It was a copy. And it was where Israel continually placed idols to its false gods. So God told Israel’s enemies to watch her judgment from there. When they were watching, what were they going to witness? God tells us in verse 9. He said that when they looked down on Israel, they would see a warped sense of justice. The rule of law had eroded to the point that they would watch great tumults in the streets. God said they would also see a warped sense of fairness. People were unfairly oppressed, disenfranchised, and marginalized in Israel. Worst of all, God said they would see a warped sense of morality. Things were so bad in Israel that it looked as if they didn’t even remember the difference between right and wrong. Violence was commonplace and robbery seemed to be a national pastime. In America, how is our sense of justice? Isn’t the rule of law being stretched almost to the breaking point? What about America’s sense of fairness? Don’t certain groups of people complain about being oppressed and disenfranchised? What about America’s sense of morality? Aren’t we to the point of calling wrong right and calling right wrong? What about in the American Church? What about in our church? Have we ever been at the place where we experienced great tumult because of a disregard of order? Have we ever had members who felt disenfranchised because they weren’t treated fairly? Have we ever gotten to the place where we acted like we didn’t even know wrong from right? I don’t know. I hope not. But if we have or if we ever do, God’s judgment will come. And He will judge us in front of witnesses. The witnesses of this community we’re supposed to be reaching for Him. The witnesses of lost people and sinners who will say things like, “Can you believe how those so-called Christians act? I sure don’t want to have anything to do with them.” God’s second response when those He has blessed rebel against Him is He shows His witnesses. His third response is He sends His weapon. Look in verse 11:
AMOS 3:11
God’s third response is He sends His weapon. History tells us that not too many years after this prophesy, the nation of Assyria laid siege to Samaria for three years. In 722 BC, it was captured. In the process of defeating and capturing Israel, Assyria did some interesting things. They destroyed Bethel. Bethel had become Israel’s primary place of idol worship and the Assyrians destroyed it. Do you think they destroyed it because they had a particular problem with idolatry? No, they were idolaters themselves. But God used the pagan Assyrians as his weapon to bring judgment on Israel and their sin. God hated Israel’s idolatry and He used pagan idolaters to destroy it. Look around at the church in America today. Anytime a high-profile church leader or big-time church ministry is brought down, we like to blame it on Satan. We say things like, “Isn’t that a shame the way Satan destroyed that church.” Do you suppose that sometimes we’re giving Satan credit for work that God has done? Just like God used idolaters as His weapon of judgment against Israel’s idolatry. Do you suppose God could have used that drug-dealing homosexual prostitute as His weapon of judgment against Ted Haggard? The thing about Assyria was, they had been around forever. They are first mentioned back in Genesis 2. but they were never as strong as they were around the time when God used them as His weapon. For a short time they were actually considered a world empire. Just like Babylon before them and Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome after them. But during a relatively short period in history, God raised them up to use as His weapon of judgment against His people Israel. God had blessed Israel with past miracles. He had blessed them by calling them out as His people. He had blessed them with the prophets. He had blessed them with His Word. But when they continually rebelled, He raised up a nation that did not know Him. He raised them up to use as His weapon of judgment against them. And a harsh judgment it was. A judgment that took away their land. It took away their strength. It took away their pride. Whether it was with ancient Israel or the local church today, that’s what God’s judgment always does. Whatever weapon He chooses to use doesn’t really matter. That’s His choice. What matters is what happens when He uses it. First, His weapon of judgment exposes sin. Just like the Assyrians exposed the idolatry of Bethel when they destroyed it, God’s judgment exposes corporate sin in the local church today. Second, His weapon of judgment destroys strongholds and palaces. In Israel, Assyria laid siege to Samaria—the self-made pride of the nation, fortified and full of palaces. What about the local church today? What self-made strongholds and palaces do we have that God’s weapon of judgment would destroy? Third, His weapon of judgment is humiliating. Everything that Israel held dear was destroyed. Everything they had confidence in was taken away. They were left with nothing. Destroyed, captured, and humiliated. When God’s weapon of judgment is used on the local church today, it becomes a reproach and a by-word to the community. God’s third response when those He has blessed rebel against Him is He sends His weapon. His final response is He separates His wheat. Look in verses 12-15:
AMOS 3:12-15
God’s final response is He separates His wheat. Everything that we’ve talked about so far is God’s corporate judgment. How God dealt with Israel as a nation when they ignored God’s blessings and rebelled against Him. And how that pattern holds true whether you’re talking about ancient Israel, modern nations or the local church today. God corporately judges those entities that rebel against Him. Especially after He has poured out His blessing on them. But that is all corporate blessing and corporate judging. That’s how He deals with groups of people. What about the individuals within those groups? In the verses we just read, God gives a very graphic picture of what happens. Once again, God is picturing Himself as a lion. Except this time, He has just devoured His prey. But He left a little bit hanging out of His mouth. He left a couple of legs and a piece of the lamb’s ear. That is His way of promising a remnant. Even though the nation was destroyed and brought to its knees in humility, some individuals within the nation would be spared. Do you remember the parable of the wheat and the tares? Turn with me to Matthew 13:24-30.
MATTHEW 13:24-30
This is one of Jesus’ Kingdom parables. He’s describing the nature of His kingdom to His disciples. Even though local church is not the kingdom, it’s just part of it—this parable gives an example of what many local churches look like today. Most churches have wheat and tares growing up together. But if those churches turn their backs on the blessings God has given them. If they rebel against God by failing to preach the Word. If they rebel against God by failing to impact their community. If they place more emphasis on pleasing man than on pleasing God. If they fail to show Christ’s love by tearing each other down. If they do those things, God will judge. He will speak His warning. He will announce that judgment is coming. He will show His witnesses. The ones the church was supposed to reach will be witness to God’s judgment. He will send His weapon. He will publicly expose sin. He will destroy strongholds and palaces. And He will humiliate the proud. But even in the midst of such terrible judgment, God is gracious. In the midst of corporate judgment, God saves individuals. In the midst of the reaping, He separates His wheat. You and I are first and foremost responsible for the condition of our own souls. And we can take comfort in the fact that God saves us as individuals. If we’re saved, we will be the remnant. If God’s judgment comes, we will be part of His couple of legs and a piece of ear. But I hope that’s not what we want. I know I don’t want it. I want the whole sheep to survive. I want this corporate body to avoid God’s judgment. So, how do we do that? How we as a church avoid God’s judgment? First, we have to recognize God’s tremendous blessings on us. We have to hold them up to Him in praise and thanksgiving. We have to use His blessings wisely. We have to be good and faithful stewards of everything He has given us. God has blessed us tremendously. We have to recognize that. Second, we have to see God for who He is. We say we serve an awesome God. Do we know Him? We have to pray and study and understand the awesome person of God Almighty. We have to praise Him for who He is, instead of just what He can do for us. We have to truly know Him. Third, we have to see ourselves for who we are. The Psalmist cried out for God to search him and try him and see if there was any wicked way in him. Do we see ourselves as God sees us? When He looks at the heart of our church, what does He see? Have we asked Him to search us and try us? Do we want Him to uncover any wickedness in us? Or do we just want to cover it up and sweep it under the rug. Finally, we have to repent of anything we have done that is an offense to God. When God shows us our sin, that’s not enough. We have to repent of it. If God ever showed us our corporate sin, would we repent of it? Are we too proud for that? Are we happy and content to just be a piece of an ear, or do we want to be a whole lamb?
