WHO WILL NOT FEAR
AMOS 3:1 - AMOS 4:13
Introduction: A study of words can be a most facinating study at times.
The proper word "Charge" by a commander can lead thousands of men into battle.
The same commander can pull them back with a single word "retreat".
The way that a parent calls a child will tell the child if it is in trouble or not.
The same is true for husbands and wives.
A study of words can lead us through a variety of emotions.
The use of words can leave us in: a) amazement
j) joy
c) anger
d) sorrow
e) at peace
f) in shock
Our use of words can lead us to a variety of outcomes:
a) words of a wedding--lead to committment
b) words of anger --leads to fights and tension
c) the psalms-- lead to peace.
An interesting study of words are those that young people use.
They have a different meaning than we are used to.
a) Something cool means that it’s Okay or popular.
b) A drag is doing something unpopular.
c) A dweeb is an unpopular person.
I cn use words within the confines of these church walls that will create a variety of emotions within you:
Think of these:
a) death-- may make you feel sad or resigned.
b) marriage--may make you excited or encouraged.
c) pregnancy-- may make you feel excited and happy.
d) divorce-- sadness, depression
e) Salvation--gladness, a feeling of being worthwhile
f) luck\lucky--will lead to anger, frustration.
Just the use of words can bring about a variety of reactions to different people both within and without the church.
We can use words to bring about positive or negative responses.
They can leave people comfortably in the pews, or chase them out, sometimes because of miscommunication or misunderstanding.
We sometimes have to deal with hard-line conservatives who may say something like this from the pulpit.
"We should not try to convert people who are members of denomination X and are going to church. They wouldn’t listen to you. To say they are wrong is like calling their mother a whore.
Although the word is used in the Bible, the inclusion of it in a statement from the pulpit is both surprising, and if we’re honest may leave us shocked.
The strange thing is that if I read a passage with that word in it you probably wouldn’t even blink an eye.
But to hear it from the pulpit is shocking.
What is wrong with this picture?
We might find an answer for this question later.
In the church we hear many words that catch our immediate attention.
a) Conviction--leads to excitement, anticipation
b) Salvation---leads to joy, excitement, satisfaction
c) Judgement---leads to fear, sadness
d) Heaven------leads to peace and comfort
e) Resurrection--leads to excitement and hope
But there is one word that brings more emothion and attention in the church, arguably than any other.
If I were to use this word now, I would have your undivided attention.
If I were to wait ten minutes and say it I would have you on the edge of your seats in anticipation.
Just by not saying it, I have some of you scratching your heads and wondering what the word is.
This is a word that is used widely in the church.
It is on the lips of each Christian present here.
It is a word that we pray for
hope for
even yearn for.
It is also a word that we don’t really understand.
We think we have the idea of it, a basic understanding if you will, but our actions have proved us wrong.
We have special meetings and use this word as their title, but they have little if anything to do with the title.
We use it but we don’t understand it.
We pray for it but we haven’t seen it yet.
We hope for it and are often disappointed.
What is the word I am talking about?
Revival.
The sad fact is that we share the same position as did the Israelites at Amos’ time.
Why do I say this?
Because we know how to get revival, we have chosen not to count the cost and be vulnerable.
We have a basic misunderstanding on the concept of revival.
We set aside a week in the spring or fall, have a special speaker come in, and we use the week of special meetings as a quick fix for the saints until the next set of meetings.
Then after the meetings everything goes back to normal.
We have these special meetings , get people out to them, we may even see people walk an aisle and make a decision for Christ.
This is not revival, it may be evangelistic, but it is not revival.
We can say however that the two terms are related.
Either one of them can lead to the other.
The common element of both revival and evangelism is a deep recognition and conviction of sin.
The source of the conviction for both is the Holy Spirit.
The recipent of the conviction is where the difference is:
a) Evangelism convicts unbelievers of sin
b) Revival convicts believers of the presence of sin in
1. either unconfessed in their own lives
2. of the presence of sin in the world
3. of the presence of sin in the church
Now, you may say we know of the presence of sin in the world.
You would be right.
We have a head-knowledge of the presence of sin in the world.
But a head-knowledge only goes so far.
Head-knowledge has no convicting power and is only factually based.
It allows us to know the consequences of sin is hell.
It allows us to know that there is a world who has hell for a destination.
And a Head-knowledge allows for a degree of safety in that we arn’t heart-broken by the facts.
The same is true of sin in our own lives.
Many times we have a head-knowledge of the presence of sin in our lives.
We know we have to make a change because it displeases God.
But we try to make the changes a) in our own power
b) at our own time
c) without a repentant heart
We also know of the presence of sin in the church.
But how can this be?
Is not the church made up of the believers in Christ?
Yes, but believers are not the only ones who attend church.
Satan does as well.
He seeks ways to hinder its work and destroy its testimony to the community.
And he does it in deceiving ways.
He hides his treachery in what we feel is "the ministry" of the church.
One group thinks the hymnbooks should be green
should be blue
We need choruses to reach the young people, but don’t play the music loud or fast.
We need the N.I.V. as the pew Bible
No the K.J.V. is the only way to go.
We see more harmful division in the church over the color of carpet, than we do over theological issues.
Satan sees this and smiles.
I’ve got the church fighting among itself.
Soon it will split.
New people will not go to it.
It’s ministry to the community is lost.
I have done it he will say.
I was able to get the church to think of themselves and not God.
And I used their own lives and resources to do it.
Satan win’s this battle every time.
The common element in all of this is a lack of a heart-felt conviction of sin.
It is a lack of holy water, being shed from eyes of true repentance to God.
True revival is the reviving in the believers heart of his or her own selfishness or inadequacy.
It drives us to our knees in thankfulness for what God has done for us.
It’s a believer looking at a world with tear-filled eyes at the realization that people are going to a lost eternity.
Revival starts with the realization that we can’t do it on our own.
The seeds of revival are planted when we come to God in humbleness and humility and say "Lord, do it again."
Revival starts when we stop seeing God’s moving in our midst as an exception to the norm, and believe expectantly that it will be the norm.
The last great Maritime revival started with the students of Acadia.
They felt such a conviction for their sin and the lostness of the world that they sometimes spent the whole day in gutwrenching prayer.
Classes would be cancelled as both students and professors would be on their knees.
Revival does not start with the unbeliever but with the believer.
The results of revival will be the salvation of souls and a deepened committment on the part of believers.
But how are revival and Amos related?
I suggest to you that the reason there is no revival in our part of the world is that because, we, as a church, have created the same conditions Israel had at the time of their sin.
They were a people who wanted to serve God: in their own way
at their own time
So it is with the church today.
We want to do the will of God and we will tell God what His will is.
If this brought judgement for the Israelites, what will it bring for us?
Chapters three to six of Amos contain a series of messages that the prophet delivers concerning the sin of Israel and its upcoming judgment.
Amos is reinforcing the fact that Israwl is God’s special child.
He brought them up from Egypt.
But somehow they don’t get the message.
They were chosen by God.
He expected the same from them and they would have a specialrelationship.When he didn’t get this judgement and discipline owuld be the result.
It’s important to realize that the God’s blessings on us, if they don’t serve to restrain us from sin, will not exempt us from judgement.
Amos 3:3-6 asks a series of seven questions.
These questions are used basically as setup questions.
Question One teaches: We cannot expect God to be present with us, or act for us, unless we are reconciled to Him. God and humanity cannot walk together unless they be reconciled.
Question two: He roars upon its prey, paralyzing it with fear.
Question Three: God will not give hard warnings and less judgements.
Question four & five: In verse five it is necessary that the people realize that it is their own sin that entangled them. Nothing but their own repentance will disentangle them.
Question six & seven: Let’s them know that God is in control. The judgements they face, the trials and tribulation they see all come from the might of God. This should be an encouragement for them to patiently bear in their public calamities and study God’s intention for them.
But when you put them with verses seven and eight.
Just as the answers for the first seven questions are obvious, so too is the answer to the question of verse eight.
As God gives the message so too must the prophet deliver it.
The lion has roared and Amos must deliver God’s word.
In the second part of this chapter verses 9-15 the prophet is told to publish his prophecy to Ashdod and Egypt.
The first is a chief city of the Philistines and the second is a major power.
They would see that the justice of the Lord would be equal. and fair.
It would be righteous judgement.
Verse 10 gives the distressing results of this trial of Israel.
The people did not know how to do right.
They plunder and loot amongst themselves.
The results of their judgement will be seen in the last three verses.
As mere fragments of the body that was once a sheep is all the shepherd can take from the lion, so too will mere fragments of the people of Israel be saved.
It might be a straggler who gets away.
It will be nothing of consequence.
It is God who is punishing them.
They will feel the brunt of His hand.
There is no place for them to hide.
They must understand that God’s way is the only way.
If they will not tear down their alters, then God will do it for them.
If they try to grab hold of the horns on their idols they will break off.
They will have nothing to hold unto.
Chapter four is an indication of the totality of the punishment.
The women are related to as the "Cows of bashan".
This is a breed of cattle that is quite big and strong.
The isrealits made use of their power as judges and magistrates for the invading of people’s rights and privileges.
They even robbed the hospitals.
The women have hardened their hearts with the use of drink.
The rest of the chapter speaks of the discipline of the Lord.
Five times in the passage the line "Yet you have not returned unto me, saith the Lord" is stated.
This leads us to four definitive statements on the punishment of Israel:
1. That God designed all his providential rebukes to reduce them to their allegience and influence them to return to Him.
2. That if they returned to God, they would be accepted.
3. That God sent further troubles because the first troubles didn’t do the job.
4. That God was grieved at their obstinacy and took it unkindly that they should force him to do that which He did so unwillingly.
There were in:
verse six: a scarcity of provisions with no visible cause.
verse seven: God withheld the rain.
verse nine: their fruit is attacked by caterpillars or mildew.
verse ten: the plagues and the sword came.
verse eleven: Some are spared and others not.
verse twelve and thirteen tell us to prepare to meet Him.
either in judgement as in verse twelve
or as the Lord of Hosts in verse thirteen.
Conclusion:
Where does this leave us in our thoughts on revival.
We are in the same spot as the Israelites were.
Their basic problem was that they forgot about God.
They felt they could do it on their own.
Everything they did seem to backfire and get turned around, because they were working on their own strength and not God’s.
Their actions in chapters three and four are based on eyes on themselves.
Their eyes were not repentant.
They were not depending on God.
Sounds like the church in the twenty-first century doesn’t it.
We don’t see revival today because we don’t seek God earnestly in our own lives.
We cheat the world, because we have the manna from heaven that could save them, the gospel, and we hide it in our churches busyness.
We cheat the poor and needy in our middle class churches that are not equipped to help or minister to special needs people.
Why do we not see revival in the church.
Because we haven’t yet come to the point where we bow before God in humbleness and humility and ask Him to do it again not only using us, but in some cases in spite of us.
If we don’t learn the lessons of the people Amos is talking to, then we will repeat their punishment until we do turn to God.
Who will not see revival.
Those who will not fear the roar of the lion.
The strange thing though is this.
If a lion were here and it roared in hunger people would be running everywhere.
God is roaring who has much more power than a lion, and noone moves.
Why is there no revival.
It is because the world has lost its fear of the Lion of Judah.
We do not believe God can do what he says he can do.
Who will not see revival.
Those who will not fear.
Do you fear the Lord today?
