“SEEK THE LORD AND LIVE” (Outline)
October 5, 2008 --
PENTECOST 21 --
Amos 5:6,7,10-15
INTRO: Today’s verses take us to the basic yet very vital core teaching of God’s holy word: sin and grace. Sin is our disobedience. Grace is God’s undeserved love for sinners. Today we discover anew God’s undeserved love for us revealed in his divine mercy, forgiveness. Jesus came as the Good Shepherd that we might have life, life to the full. True, our lives are full of sin. In grace God has now given us the full life – a life filled with forgiveness through Christ, our Savior. Amos comes with a call to repentance for the people of God. Other Old Testament prophets also sounded the call to repentance. In the New Testament John the Baptist and Jesus called for repentance because the kingdom of God was near. After Pentecost Peter preached to the crowd how they put to death the author of life. The crowd wondered what they were to do next. Peter replied: "Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you--even Jesus" (ACTS 3:19,20). Today’s verses call us to
repentance.
“SEEK THE LORD AND LIVE”.
I. Our daily sins are great.
II. God’s divine mercy is greater.
I. OUR DAILY SINS ARE GREAT
A. Amos was a prophet during great prosperity in Israel and Judah. The people lived in great luxury.
1. Spiritually speaking God’s people were morally bankrupt. They worshipped false gods.
2. Verses 7, 10. God’s people hated justice, cast righteousness to the ground, and hated truth.
3. Verse 12b. They did not try to hide their sins but displayed them in public, in the courts.
B. Verse 11a. The people mistreated the poor. The church was to provide for the poor.
1. God’s judgment was near, verse 6. Bethel was the town for their false worship of false gods.
2. Verse 11b. These people would not enjoy all their luxury and wealth that they worshipped.
C. The people thought everything was going great. God’s truth was different verse 12a. God knew.
D. We might wonder why these people did not listen. Why did they not repent? We often look around and wonder about everyone else and why they still continue in their sinful, disobedient living. But we are not without excuse. It is vitally important to note, it is extremely important to realize and understand and believe and confess that not one person is exempt from sin. In fact, just the opposite is true. By nature we are enemies of God. By birth we have inherited unrighteousness from our first parents, Adam and Eve. Just as certain as we live and breath on this side of heaven, we sin. Sadly we sin daily and we sin much. "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away"(ISAIAH 64:6). It is that time of year when the leaves are blown here and there and everywhere. Thus our sins also sweep us away.
E. Who wants to take the blame for something bad? Who is willing to admit, “I am wrong”? Watching the daily events it appears that no one is guilty for anything, anywhere, at anytime. Those in authority in our nation are quick to fix the blame on the other party. Again, we are not exempt. Satan tries to blind our minds and spiritual thinking. Hard as it is to admit we have to agree with God’s word, “I sin daily and I sin greatly”. "If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives"(1 JOHN 1:10). We may wonder how close our nation has come to this truth.
F. We may try to deny sin as if it never existed, especially in our own lives. We can try to reject sin, dismiss it or explain sin away. Sin is still with us as long as we are alive. We cannot escape. God has created us from the dust of the earth as living, breathing miracles. Our hearts constantly pump life giving, oxygenated blood to every living cell in our bodies. Spiritually our hearts are infected. "For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander" (MATTHEW 15:19). The soul who sins is the one who dies. None escape death because all are sinners.
“SEEK THE LORD AND LIVE”. Our sins are very great. No matter how great our sins, God’s divine mercy is greater. When we see our sins we recognize our great need for mercy. Christ brings mercy.
II. GOD’S DIVINE MERY IS GREATER
A. In the midst of the call to repentance Amos presents divine mercy, verse 6a. The LORD.
1. The LORD = the LORD God Jehovah full of mercy and grace. The LORD = “I AM”.
2. The people heard this name, the LORD, and remembered the LORD of divine mercy.
B. Verse 13. The people had no excuse. They were guilty and could nor did not respond to the charges.
1. Amos calls for repentance. Verse 15b. “Perhaps” ; Amos did not know if they would repent.
2. God’s people did not repent. The Assyrians soon came and nearly completely destroyed them.
C. Verses 6a, 13a, 14a. God’s call to repentance was very clear. Give up the evil and cling to the good.
1. God did not wish to see his people destroyed. The LORD God wanted to show mercy.
2. Give up evil, cling to the good. God was with them to bless them. See and believe verse 14b.
D. Praise God that his mercy is greater than our sin and disobedience. We have before us the wonder and the miracle of God’s grace. We look at our sins and realize we do not deserve God’s love. We recognize our disobedience and understand we cannot earn God’s love. In spite of all our shortcomings, wickedness, and rebellion the Lord God Almighty still gives to us his divine mercy. "If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared"(PSALM 130:3,4). God is not like man. God forgives and forgets. At times we may forgive but find it much harder to forget. At other times we neither forgive nor forget. God is not like us.
E. God’s divine mercy is displayed through his forgiveness. God blots out our sins. Our evil thoughts, wicked words, and disobedient actions are removed forever. Sins are erased as if they never existed. We stand in awe (“therefore you are feared”) of God’s divine mercy. "Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy"(MICAH 7:18). Truly who is a God like this? There is none but one: the LORD. Again, our gracious God is not like us. God delights to show mercy. Do we? Though we slap God in the face with our sins he still forgives us. Our loving Lord pardons and forgives and shows us mercy, always.
F. The blood of Jesus covers up all our sins. You and I are now covered with the robe of Christ’s right-eousness. This is God’s divine mercy. Certainly we do not deserve any mercy and cannot earn or buy any of God’s love. Purely out of divine mercy the Lord sent his son to give us eternal life. "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed"(1 PETER 2:24). Our lives are changed. We no longer are slaves to the sins that once entangled us. By divine mercy, which is the power of God’s love in our lives, we can and do live for righteousness. We can say, “Satan, get behind me!”
CONC.: Yes, we are forgiven. God’s divine mercy is far greater than our daily sins. God’s divine mercy is far greater than we can imagine. Our Lord forgives us freely and abundantly. Seek the Lord and live! When we are seeking the Lord we cannot be seeking sin. Turning to God means we are turning away from sin. This is repentance: sorrow over sin and turning. After all, this is what our gracious God truly desires for all people. "For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent and live!"(EZEKIEL 18:32). Truly our daily sins are very, very great. Amos calls out, “Seek the Lord and live”. Then we truly and graciously discover that God’s divine mercy is far greater than our sin. We are saved because we are forgiven. “SEEK THE LORD AND LIVE! Amen. Pastor Timm O. Meyer
SERVICES: 1:00pm @ NCF Min.(Sat) / 12:00pm @ NCF Medium (Sun) / 9:30am @ Redeemer (Sun)
BIBLE STUDIES: TUES. -- 6:00pm (Min) + 7:30pm (Med) @ NCF / 10:55am @ Redeemer (Sun)
/ Sunday radio broadcast @ 9:05am on KQNK 106.7FM or 1530AM + www.kqnk.com
PENT. 21 readings:
ISAIAH 25:6-9;
PHILIPPIANS 4:4-13;
MATT. 22:1-14;
(PSALM 23)
PLEASE be sure to READ the book of AMOS this week to see the depth of the sins of the nation of God.
