Introduction
I. Yehweh, have not I worshiped you with a full heart?
A. Have not I been faithful?
B. Have not I lived my life to please you as best as I possibly could.
II. But Lord, You know that I have people that depend on me.
A. I have a family.
B. I have laborers.
C. Lord, what about my sheep and cattle?
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III. O, Hi.
A. My name is Amos.
B. In your language my name means “burden” as in “Burden bearer.”
C. And what a burden the Lord has given to me.
IV. Yehweh has given me the task of taking a message of destruction throughout my land.
A. I must go to Damascus, Philistia, Phoenicia, Edom, Ammon, Moab, Judah, and even to God’s chosen people of the nation Israel.
B. They will not be happy with me at all.
V. I tried to reason with the Lord.
VI. I asked of him, “why me?”
A. There must be someone better than me.
B. There must be a priest or a prophet or someone that would be better suited to carry these messages.
VII. What was that again Lord?
A. For one transgression, the Lord remained silent.
B. For two transgressions, the Lord was patient.
C. Even for three transgressions, the Lord was long suffering.
D. But for four transgressions, the Lord must speak.
VIII. God’s answer was simple; just tell them,
A. Thus says the Lord, “For three transgressions ...and for four, I will not turn away it’s punishment...”
B. If they will not listen to the words of God, what will they listen to?
IX. My only answer could be; “Not my will but thine of Lord.”
X. Maybe I can rest for a while, and tell you a bit of my story. The Rich Grow Richer
I. I have already told you that my name means “burden bearer.”
A. This is my nation.
B. My home is Tekoa, which lies about 12 miles south of Jerusalem.
1. Before my calling by God, I was no prophet
2. And I am not sure that label fits me today.
C. I am a keeper of flocks.
1. My flocks included both sheep and cattle.
2. I also cultivated a crop of figs.
II. God had additional plans for my life though; to God, I was to become a prophet.
A. The message God gave me was one of judgement
B. My first stop was to be Damascus, which as you can see is a far journey, especially on foot.
III. It was in 762 B.C. that God called me to my mission.
A. Many people believe that Israel was always under the domination of foreign countries, BUT,
B. You may recall from your Walk Thru The Bible days that there was a period of about 100 years when Israel was free and self ruling.
IV. Many of my countrymen considered those days to carry a special blessing from God, and that may well be true.
A. We were a free people, and as is often the case where there is true freedom, there is often prosperity.
B. As man that enjoyed the privileges of owning my own business, I had traveled quite extensively through our nation, and I saw much.
V. Our nation had grown rich.
A. As least many in our nation had grown rich.
B. Many had also grown quite poor.
VI. Perhaps 762 B.C. was not so vastly different from what is taking place in your own nation.
A. The rich grew richer,
B. But there really was no middle class.
C. While the rich grew richer, the poor grew poorer.
D. While the rich grew richer, they took greater and greater advantage of those that we not rich.
VII. I believe in your bible; I believe it is Luke 12:48, that it has been said, “ ...And from everyone who has been given much shall much be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.” (Luke 12:48, NASB)
A. God has consistently blessed His people.
1. He has given us much.
2. I have never considered it a great sacrifice to worship the one that has blessed us so, but not everyone agree’s.
B. You see, there seem’s to be one major problem that grew greater as more wealth is acquired.
VIII. When people become wealthy, they have a tendency to become self reliant.
A. We will often forget that even our financial blessings come from the hand of the Almighty.
B. We believe that we have acquired great homes, and land, and businesses through our own abilities and wisdom.
C. My fellow countrymen had developed a habit of dissatisfaction with what they possessed.
D. They had become willing to whatever it took to get more, regardless of the cost to those around them.
IX. Perhaps it would have been better, if we had learned a lesson of contentment
A. Would not the Apostle Paul one day write, 11 ... for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. (Phil. 4:11, NASB)
B. There is much peace to be gained with contentment.
X. Understand that God is not opposed to riches.
A. In heaven there will be riches beyond what we can imagine.
B. God is opposed to the rich, taking advantage of those that are not so rich.
C. Worship of God is about so much more than just coming into a building once or twice a week.
D. Worship of God is about demonstrating His love, and His concern for others.
XI. God’s words to His people are,
A. If you love Me,
B. You will also love those that I have created. God Is Forgotten
I. Not caring for those around you is a major concern to God, but I perceive that this problem arises from an even greater problem.
II. Where there is great wealth, the true God is often put in second place.
III. During the time of freedom and prosperity in Israel, worship was not forgotten, even a form of worship for Yehweh was still practiced.
IV. The problem was that to the worship of the true God was added worship of foreign God.
A. Man seems to resort to his lowest denominator.
B. Worship of Baal was the order of the day, as if Yehweh would accept worship to which is added other God’s.
V. The word “Baal” means “husband.”
A. Baal is a storm god;
B. Baal, along with several lessor god’s and goddesses were considered responsible for nature and crops.
1. The concept grew that in order to have plentiful crops, Baal must be kept happy.
2. Conveniently Baal was also considered to be a god of fertility.
C. The idea was that Baal could be kept happy through physical relations with the other goddesses.
VI. In order to stimulate the goddesses to keep Baal happy, it seemed like a good idea for humans to disregard God’s command for physical purity before and during marriage.
A. Temple prostitution has grown at an alarming pace.
B. How can one believe that it is alright to disregard God’s commands in one area of life, and yet expect to honestly worship God in some other area of life.
C. Did not God say through the prophet Jeremiah say, “And I will give them a heart to know Me, for I am the Lord; and they will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with their whole heart.” (Jer. 24:7, NASB)
VII. A whole heart for God.
A. That is what God requires.
B. True worship of God calls for placing God first in every area of life.
1. How do I do my job? Am I working as though I work for God.
2. How do I treat other people? How can I say I love God, if I do not demonstrate love for my brother. (1 John 4:20)
3. Am I a witness for the love of God? You shall be my witnesses.
VIII. When people become rich, they will place the needs of others second to their own needs.
IX. When people become rich, they often place God in second place to themselves.
Has God Called You?
I. My name is Amos.
A. I am not a prophet
B. I am not the son of a prophet.
C. I have no special training.
II. My name is Amos.
A. God is not done with me yet.
B. I have lived a long life.
C. I have observed much in life.
III. My name is Amos.
A. I have a family that I love.
B. I have workers that depend on me to provide for them.
IV. My name is Amos.
A. I do not know why God chose me to take his message.
B. By my own power, I am not adequate to do this thing that God has told me to do.
V. My name is Amos.
A. I did not seek the job to which God has called me.
B. I do not look forward to taking His message to these people.
C. I am sure that most will reject what I have to tell them.
VI. My name is Amos.
A. I have determined to give God first place in my life.
B. If God is to be first in my life, and in yours, our only answer to His calling is, “Not my will, but thine be done.”
VII. God has given me a vision, and a prophecy.
A. Though written nearly three thousand years ago, unfortunately, that vision is still appropriate for you today.
