Lessons From Amos
Amos 1:1 (12/12/19)
December 12, 2019 • Benham Brothers
* What do Amos, Elisha, Jesus, and the Disciples all have in common? * They were gainfully employed in business when God called them. * They were shepherds, farmers, carpenters, accountants, doctors, fishermen - all men of business. * Why? * I believe the marketplace is the best place to train people - it’s the great “sifter” of men. * How? * If you don’t bring real value in the marketplace you don’t make it! * In vocational ministry you are often judged by your INTENTIONS. * So if the event didn’t go well or your lunch meeting went 3 hours too long, then it must have been God’s will. * But in the marketplace you are judged by your ACTIONS. * If the event didn’t go well or you took 3 hours too long in a meeting, you could get fired! * That trains you to stay on point and bring real, tangible value. * Amos was a poor country farmer, but God gave him a powerful word to speak. * What does this say about you and me? * We are God’s ministers in the marketplace!!!!
Amos 2:4-6 (12/14/17)
December 14, 2017 • Benham Brothers
* Judah was going to be judged for rejecting God’s law. * If you reject God’s law you reject God. * State-funded police write tickets because violating their rules is a violation of the state. * If you reject your parent’s rules you are rejecting your parents. * When confronted with the law we have a choice - accept or reject. * Here’s the key - If you accept the rule you accept the rule-giver. * If you reject a rule you reject the rule-giver. * If you reject Him He rejects you.
Amos 3:3-6 (12/14/17)
December 14, 2017 • Benham Brothers
* Amos was a farmer and used examples from nature. * He was trying to show the Israelites that God’s punishment wasn’t without cause. * God had used natural disaster (locusts, etc) to punish them. * Look at Amos’s examples: * vs 3 - if two people walk together (effect) they had to first agree on a direction (cause). * vs 4 - if a lion is going to roar in a thicket or his den (effect) he had to first find his prey (cause). * vs 5 - if a bird is going to be caught in a trap (effect) he must first be baited (cause). * vs 6 - if disaster comes upon a city (effect) then God had to have planned it (cause). * vs 10 - if God planned disaster on a city (effect) then the people have sinned against Him (cause). * Apply this to your life - what effects do you see? * This will help you get to a cause.
Amos 4:6-10 (12/20/16)
December 20, 2016 • Benham Brothers
* God is always speaking. * He was trying to get Israel’s attention so they would repent for their sins. How? * He used physical things to make a spiritual point. * He didn’t blow a massive horn and announce their need to repent. * He used famine, rain, locusts, mildew, war, and murder - all things they could explain naturally. * Only those who had eyes to see and ears to hear would see and hear God’s voice speaking through it.
Amos 5:10 & 15 (12/24/14)
December 24, 2014 • Benham Brothers
The gate was the heartbeat of the city. Specifically two institutions were in full-bloom at the gate: 1) Marketplace. 2) Government. Anything that was to be done would take place at the gate of the city. During Amos's time what was happening? * There was greed in the marketplace. * There was no justice being done in the government. If anyone stood for God as the absolute standard for the market or government they were hated. So what did God tell Amos should be done? 1) Hate evil - we tolerate what God says we should hate. 2) Love good - love looks like something, so if we truly love we will truly act. 3) Establish justice in the gate - how? * By first showing up at the gate. * Second, by being a living rebuke at the gate. In the marketplace this is running a kingdom business. In government this is our voice and our vote.
Amos 5:24 (12/17/15)
December 17, 2015 • Benham Brothers
• Our founding fathers recognized our form of civil government wouldn't work without proper self government. • This is why they put such an emphasis on Christianity, the Bible, and church. • Amos speaks of the same - you can't have justice (civil gov) without righteousness (self gov). • RIGHTEOUS means "right relationship" with God. • A righteous person doesn't need a law because he's led by love. • JUSTICE means that proper boundaries are being enforced - specifically God's boundaries. • You can only have justice when punishment for crossing a boundary is enforced. • The goal of justice is to keep people in bounds because that's where blessing is. • In America we see a major lack of justice. Why? • Because we first lacked righteousness. • "When the righteous rule the people rejoice" - because justice rules the day. • Amos 6:12 - Justice was turned to poison and righteousness to wormwood. • If we want justice back we have to first get righteousness back through repentance.
Amos 7:1-6 (12/12/19)
December 12, 2019 • Benham Brothers
* God waited to send the locusts (judgment) to the land until the second growth of grass. * This was a merciful move on His part. * The first growth was the most important. * If the locusts showed up then then the grass would’ve never come in for that year. * Then, God let Amos in on His plan. * I believe it was to spur Amos on to intercede for the people. * Amos did, and God relented. * This happened twice! * Amos did the opposite of what Jonah did. * When God shows you the backside of a person or people, it’s so you can intercede for them. * But that doesn’t mean you don’t have to tell them the truth. * Amos still had a hard message to deliver to the people he prayed for. * These verses show how God and Amos were both merciful to the people who needed punishment.
Amos 7:7-9 (12/17/15)
December 17, 2015 • Benham Brothers
• God had just shown Amos two visions - both where God planned judgment but when Amos interceded God relented. • This shows God's delay in judgment is not His approval but His mercy. • Third vision - there would be no mercy shown. • God with a plumb line - a string used to measure the straightness of a wall. • God's Word was their plumb line and they were way out of plumb. • Only those with authority can measure something - like a buyer of a house - they can't measure someone's home unless they're going to buy it. • God judges both nations and people, so the question is two-fold: • 1) Am I personally out of plumb? • Have I been living according to God's Word? • 2) Is my nation out of plumb? • God has become our opponent, but repentance makes Him our friend. • 3) Is the church out of plumb? • In Amos the priests were selfishly building their own little kingdoms. • The church and the state together were trying to shut Amos up because he was holding the plumb line.
Amos 8:5-6 (12/14/17)
December 14, 2017 • Benham Brothers
* Amos was a man of business using a business analogy to show how corrupt the Israelites had become. * How you handle your work says a lot about who you are as a person. * 1) “When will the…..Sabbath be ended that we may market wheat?” * They saw God’s law as an impediment to their ability to make money. * 2) “skimping on measure.” * They did the least they could to make the most they could. * A frugal person minimizes their benefit while maximizing other’s. * A cheap person maximizes their benefit while minimizing other’s. * 3) “boosting the price…” * They priced according to what they could get, not the value of the product. * 4) “cheating with dishonest scales” * They stole when they knew they could get away with it. * 5) “buying the poor with silver and the needy for a pair of sandals.” * They exploited the poor by taking advantage of their unfortunate situation. * 6) “selling even the sweepings with the wheat.” * They diluted their product in order to make more money. * If you work like this be prepared for God to stand against you.