HoHum:
“Never again,” John said. “Never again will I trust you. I can’t forgive you this time.” Ann could feel the pain in his words. His heart was broken, and now he was going to break hers. “Never again! No more chances! How could you do this again? How could you show so little respect for our marriage, our family, our children, me? It’s over! Never again. I refuse to live like this any longer.” There was finality in his words she had never heard before. After a long series of affairs, she had finally added the straw to break the proverbial camel’s back. She did not blame him. In fact, she felt pained by his pain.
She had done it this time, and she fully knew it. She had hurt him before, and he had responded with harsh words, but never like this. Never had she heard, “never again.” She shuddered at the thought of it, the implications of it. It sounded so final. She had gone too far this time. Stunned, his words kept echoing though her mind: “never again, never again!” Her failure was a burden she would bear the rest of her life.
Bob’s shock was beyond belief. The words hit him like nothing had ever hit him before. His breath was taken away. He had to grab hold of the wall to hold himself up. He felt as though he would pass out. “You have it- AIDS.” A deep numbness set in. Bob had felt compassion for those who caught the disease through no fault of their own. He had even had pity on those who caught it because of their actions. But never did he think he would hear those words concerning himself.
As he walked to the car he realized that he could not remember another word the doctor said. Never again would there be a day, however long he lived, when these words would not haunt him and overshadow everything he did. The choice had been his. He had known the risks and yet exposed himself to the disease. He alone was responsible. He had himself to blame. Never again a carefree day to bask in the sun, to enjoy family and friends, to plan for the future, without the horrible reality of his condition. Never again.
The sirens were so loud he thought his ears would burst. He recognized them men who were walking around the two cars as the highway patrol. He heard the sound of the ambulance as it grew closer and closer to the scene of the accident. There were too many light flashing and too much noise. His body was numb. Already the men had attempted to ask him questions. He found that he could not answer. He wasn’t sure whether it was the effects of the accident or the drugs that he had taken. There didn’t seem to be anything physically wrong with him. He was shaken up, but nothing serious. As the men walked toward the car once more, they began assisting Todd to his legs. Leaning upon their shoulders, he began the short walk from the wreckage of the cars to the back of the ambulance.
It wasn’t until he saw the other car that his mind cleared enough to remember the driver of the other vehicle. As they walked, he could see two paramedics working with a woman stretched upon the ground. She was not doing well. They walked close to her. Todd could hear the paramedics conversation. “Hurry with that IV. I think we’re losing her. Her BP is bad. Wait, I lost her pulse. Quickly, let’s start CPR!” Todd thought, “Why is this happening? It’s all my fault. Why did I take those drugs? Why have I done? O God please save her. I promise, never again. I will never do it again.”
WBTU:
“Never again.” Those words are almost always painful. They sound so final- as if there is no going back. No more chances. When “never again” is spoken, we know something has gone too far. The time for change has passed. There is nothing we can do except live or die with the pain and the consequences.
Sometimes life goes on after never again. However, things are never the same. Never again usually leaves a burden to bear, a pain in the deepest recesses of heart, a sense of brokennes and failure. “Never again” are difficult words to hear, and they leave their marks upon us, impacting who are what we are as well as all that our future holds.
Amos delivered harsh words in a smooth season to the people of Israel. The prophets are often called preachers of “gloom and doom.” While it is true that the prophets generally delivered words of judgment, it would not be fair to say that the prophets enjoyed this aspect of their ministry. They are people after all and who likes to deliver words of “Never again.”
Amos, whose ministry seemed to be nothing but words of judgement, in chapter 7 is concerned about the people of Israel because he prayes for them. His intercessions are effective. In the first vision we see that there is going to be a locust plague. In the second vision we see that there is going to be a firestorm to devour the land. In both cases, Amos prays and the Lord decides not to do this to the nation. We need to do the same.
“More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of” James 5:16: The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. Prayers do make a difference.
Yet there is another vision and side to this. In the 3rd vision in Amos 7 we see a scene out of everyday life. Amos sees a wall and the Lord standing by it with a plumb line in his hand. Amos is asked a question: What do you see? He sees a plumb line. God, like an inspecting architect, sees a wall built improperly, a wall out of line, a wall that should be torn down. It is so bad it must be rebuilt. Specifically that wall is Israel.
The words are harsh. The English Standard Version says at the end of vs. 8 and 9: I will never again pass by them; the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste, and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.”
Notice that never again. The time for intercesssion is past. The places of worship and the king and kingdom will not escape anymore. No more chances. It is over.
Thesis: Let’s talk about “never again.”
For instances:
Context of Amos 7
I am uncomfortable with the “never again” of Amos 7. It’s not what I want to hear. We are more comfortable with the words of Jeremiah 31:34: “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” We love the words of Psalm 103:12: “as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”
We want to think about God as one of infinite love where there is always more chances to respond to his offer of forgiveness through the gospel. Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
As a Christian and a preacher I want to be big on grace and small on “no more chances.” I don’t like never again, especially when it comes from the lips of God. Want people to have many more chances because I am thankful that I had a chance and took it. Wonderful to think about “neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:39, NIV. However, there are only so many chances to get this right.
“Pray as if everything depended on God, and act as if everything depended on oneself.” We have choices to make in this life. We will not get through life without making many decisions with serious consequences for ourselves and others. In our youth we sometimes find ourselves feeling as if we are invincible. There is nothing we cannot overcome. We mess up but rarely suffer lasting damage.
With the coming of the teenage and young adult years, the choices become more complicated and numerous. Sure signs of maturity are feelings of complexity and of being overwhelmed at the decisions we must make. Whom will we choose as friends? How will we perform in school? What career path do we take? Do we value integrity or just do whatever is easy? Do we choose a healthy lifestyle? How do we treat our neighbors? These and hundreds of other decisions come before us in this life, and each demands a response- sometimes on a daily basis. Our responses are crucial for our lives and for the lives of others.
Amos intereceded for the people. For a while his prayers made a difference for others. Yet there came a time when Israel’s decisions brought the nation to a point of no return.
Israel went too far. Its decisions and actions were sins against God, but they also impacted the future of the nation. We too make decisions each day that have within them the power to change lives, our own and others. Sometimes decisions lead to pain, destruction, and death.
God’s power to forgive is not in question, but neither is our power as free will creations to choose wrongly and find ourselves hearing those words that we never want to hear: “Never again.”
NT contains 3 “never agains”:
“Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name.” Revelation 3:12, NIV.
“Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the centre of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”” Revelation 7:16, 17, NIV.
NT also contains a “depart from me”:
““Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” Matthew 25:41, NIV.
So which is it for you?
You get word that a classmate from high school has just had a heart attack and died. He was your age. Within weeks after he was diagnosed with cancer you are attending the funeral of a co-worker. He went so fast. A teenager is killed going home from football practice. He was the star of the team. A mother of three small children is broadsided by a semi in the middle of the day. She was on her way to pick up her kids from school. A freak accident claimed the life of a friend. You were with him yesterday. You talked with him on the phone last night. Now he is gone.
Plan of salvation
I tell you, now is the time of God’s favour, now is the day of salvation.” 2 Corinthians 6:2.
