Turn To God When You Hurt For Others
Amos 5 & 6
Introduction
In all of the things we struggle with in life, God is constantly calling us to turn to Him for help, strength, love, and grace. We often seek to fix our problems in our own skill and ability. We say we believe in a sovereign God who has our best interests at heart, who desires for us to live with Him forever, who has demonstrated over and over his faithfulness to us - yet we still try to overcome without His help. The Scriptures encourage us to turn to God in the most difficult moments of our lives and trust Him. The four sermons in this series will be in the prophets. Our theme verse is
Isaiah 45:22 ESV “Turn to me and be saved,? all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.”
Today we are in the book of Amos.
Amos was a country preacher. His own autobiography in 7:14-16:“I was no prophet, nor a prophet's son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs. But the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’ Now therefore hear the word of the Lord….”
Amos’ message from about 760BC rings true for us today. Israel had reached a time of economic comfort. They continued to worship God in all of the ritual and observation of the Israelite religion: sacrifices, music, tithes, and feasts. Unfortunately they also worshiped other gods as well, which led to gross immorality, arrogance, and self-serving. Amos warns of a ‘Day of the Lord’ to come, but is mostly ignored. Captivity at the hands of the Assyrians was less than 40 years away by the time Amos preached. From a position of comfort and prosperity, Israel released the heart God wanted them to have for the hurting/struggling. That’s a great danger for us today… let’s notice some of the warning signs that alert us to a loss of compassion for the hurting.
1. Five Signs of Lost Compassion for the Hurting (Amos 6:1-6)
Complacent (6:1 Woe to those who are at ease in Zion, and to those who feel secure on the mountain of Samaria…). A feeling of self satisfaction with no concern for others. Zephaniah 1:12 “At that time I will … punish those who are complacent … who think, ‘The Lord will do nothing, either good or bad.’”
Comfortable (6:4 Woe to those who lie on beds of ivory and stretch themselves out on their couches and eat lambs from the flock and calves from the midst of the stall.) They were comfortable physically, plenty of food to eat.
Careless (6:5 who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp and like David invent for themselves instruments of music) 1 These 5:14 “…Warn those who are idle and disruptive…”
Concerned for self (6:6 who drink wine in bowls and anoint themselves with the finest oils…)
Philippians 2:3 “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility, value others above yourselves.”
Cold Hearted (6:6b …are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!)
God’s Reaction (Amos 5:21-23) No matter how well they offered their religious services, the fact that they were complacent and cold hearted toward the hurting around them made their worship an offense to God. They are guilty of taking advantage of the poor, receiving bribes, and becoming rich on the backs of others (5:11-12). They not only have abandoned righteousness, but they hate anyone who rebukes them. Five times in chapter 4 the Lord expresses his desire that Israel turn back to Him, but ultimately they do not. We have to guard against the prosperity and comforts of this life moving us to a place of complacency and carelessness. When we walk with Jesus, however, we are moved by the hurts of others.
2. Steps Toward Healing When Others Are Hurt
Live by the Greatest Commands
Matthew 22:37-40 ...“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” Israel thought their focus on worship was enough. God pointed them to the neighbors around suffering. Both!
Seek the Kingdom First
Matthew 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Seeking the Kingdom is not seeking religion, but seeking religion that concerns itself with loving God & neighbors!
James 1:27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
Care in the name of Jesus
Colossians 3:17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
-We care in the name of Jesus
-We care to the glory of Jesus
-We care in order to bring people to Jesus
-We care even when it seems ineffective to us
-We care because we are moved by compassion
-We care because we never want to lose our love for others
“Love is the litmus test. And that love is expressed by sharing our faith and working for social justice. The spiritual and physical needs of people become the passion of our lives.” -Lloyd J. Ogilvie
3. Five Questions About Caring
What organizations already exist that can use my help to help the hurting in our community? CASA, Meals on Wheels, Recovery Communities, Rays of Sonshine, Habitat for Humanity, etc.
Is there some unmet need to which I feel a calling to ignite a new effort? What touches your heart? Serve there.
Is there someone I personally know who needs help that I can offer or organize? Not every need needs an organization! Sometimes they just need one person who cares.
How can I glorify Christ by giving and working through the church to bring help and healing? (Honduras Scholarships; Monthly Collections; Occasional collections; Ongoing ministry locally)
Am I praying for God to keep my eyes open to the hurts He cares about and that may reach beyond my comfort zone? Open our eyes, Lord!
Conclusion:
Best known statement in Amos calls for us to care for all.
Amos 5:24 But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
The way we care for others impacts the way God receives our worship. As in the day of Amos, we are living in the shadow of the coming Day of the Lord. For them it was a day of captivity & destruction because they did not turn away from their sins of cold hearted complacency. For disciples of Jesus who are seeking to walk in His paths, it’s a day of celebration and reunion, sparking a new life in a new heavens and new earth!
Isaiah 45:22 ESV “Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.”
Turn to God when you hurt for others - this will empower your worship and make it acceptable to God - and will bring kingdom care and justice into the lives of the hurting.
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Discussion Questions
1. In the list of five signs of lost compassion for the hurting, which one do you observe most often? Which one is easiest to fall into? How do we fight against these prevailing attitudes?
2. In Amos 5:21, why do you think Amos uses such harsh language like “hate,” “despise,” “will not accept” to the people of God? Did this language get your attention? Why has God completely rejected their worship?
3. Where do we see suffering around us? Discuss this in terms of widening circles… begin with those closest to us and expand across the world. What are the ways we become aware of the hurting and needy around us?
4. What’s the first step in helping to solve problems that cause suffering around us … how do we make a long term difference?
5. How do we ensure that our worship is acceptable to God?
6. What does Amos mean when he says that Israel has turned “justice to wormwood”? (Amos 5:7 - check various translations in class)
7. God wants justice to roll down like water, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream (Amos 5:24). Why do you think God use this water imagery to illustrate what justice and righteousness should be like?
8. In what ways might we be like Israel in this passage? What does it look like to work for justice in our context?
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Resources
Jim Erwin
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/jimerwin/2014/09/16/amos-51-27-pursuing-justice/
Overview of Amos: https://youtu.be/mGgWaPGpGz4
Commentary by Terrence E. Fretheim
https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-32/commentary-on-amos-518-24-5
Lloyd J. Ogilvie, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, vol. 22, The Preacher’s Commentary Series (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc, 1990), 330.
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Video of this message can be viewed by searching the YouTube Chanel of Forsythe Church of Christ.
