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Seek the Lord and Live: A Call from Amos 3-5
November 11, 2026 · 17 min
An exhortation from Amos 3–5: seek God, accept His correction, and choose life through repentance and obedience.
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God Corrects Those He Loves 0:10 Good morning. Welcome to Stand on the Word. Today our journey takes us to Amos chapters three through five verse four of chapter five, where thus says the lord to the house of Israel, seek me and0:21 live. That is good advice. Seek the lord and live. What if the greatest danger facing America are are not the crises that we face, but rather refusing to0:33 allow those crises, those challenges, those challenges that we face to turn us back to god? We're gonna explore that today. Alright. As mentioned last time, don't be misled by the description of0:45 these shorter books as minor prophets. I mean, look at this. Like like Amos, they bring a major message. There's... These are short chapters we have, today, so be sure and read them in0:57 there to tie... Entirety, but there's so much in here. I'm gonna have to kinda give an overview, because of our time. Verse one chapter three. Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, oh, children of Israel,1:08 against the whole family, which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying, you only have I known of all the families of the earth. Therefore, I will punish you for all your iniquities.1:21 This is why God's people do not get away with sin, at least not for long. When we belong to God, he corrects us. Hebrews chapter twelve verse six says, for whom the1:33 Lord loves, He chastens and scourges every son whom He receives. And Jesus said this in Luke chapter twelve, to whom much is given, from Him much will be required.1:44 As individuals, when we're in relationship with Lord, we're his children. And just like I don't let my children get away with... Or I didn't let my children get away. They're older now. But I corrected them because1:56 I loved them, and I wanted the best for them. I didn't necessarily correct other people's children because they weren't mine. God says, I correct my children. This also applies to nations who align2:08 themselves with him. You know, as America declares itself a Christian nation, we shouldn't be surprised when God corrects us for2:20 policies and positions that run counter to his truth. And to whom much is given, much will be required. America has been given a lot. Alright. In verses three through six, thereCalamity as God's Warning 2:32 are seven questions that have obvious answers. And it culminates with the question that we read in verse six. If a trumpet is blown in a city, will not the people be afraid? If2:43 there is calamity in a city, will not the Lord have done it? When the people violate the Word of God and evil comes upon them, the prophet is saying it is from God.2:55 Now the evil of sin is our own doing, but the evil trouble that comes as a result of our sin is from the Lord. Whether... Whatever that instrument may3:07 be, nothing happens. Nothing happens to God's people that God has not done or allowed. Now that said, not every bad thing that happens is punishment coming from God. Sometimes God allows these things to3:19 come upon us to refine us and prepare us. But when there is obvious a rejection of God and his word, it is as we see here in Amos chap... In in the3:31 whole book of Amos. It is the chastisement of God. Verse seven. Surely, the Lord does nothing unless he reveals his secret to his servants, the prophets. A3:43 lion has roared, Who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken. Who can but prophesy? Now God will not bring judgment without warning. Alright? But3:55 but that does not mean the people will hear the warning as they often refuse to hear and listen to the prophets of God. And the word of God. Right? The word of God is4:07 very clear and that's... When we talk about prophecy today, I... When I talk about prophecy, when I talk about the prophetic voice of the church, I'm talking about declaring the word of God. Not something4:18 new, but something that is there. God makes it very clear in his word. He he he lays it out there. But here's the problem. Human nature human nature has not changed. We see what happens today when4:30 people don't wanna hear a message that challenges their choices that run counter to God. They silence or cancel those voices. And we we see this throughout scripture.4:43 I mean, here in the book of Amos, chapter two verse twelve, but you gave the Nazarites wine to drink and commanded the prophets saying, do not prophesy. In chapter seven verse thirteen, but4:55 never again prophesy at Bethel for it is the king's sanctuary and it is the royal residence. Over in Isaiah, we're going to see this as well, who say to the seers, do not see, and5:07 to the prophets, do not prophesy to us right things. Speak to us smooth things. Prophesy deceit. That's in in Isaiah thirty verse ten. You see, the cancel culture is not5:18 new. Alright? The the nature of man, the fallen nature of man does not want to hear the truth. But here's here's the warning that comes in Amos, back in5:30 Amos three verse eleven. Therefore, thus says the Lord, an adversary shall be all around the land. He shall sap your strength from you, and your palaces shall be plundered.Judgment on False Worship and Prosperity 5:42 And and here's the why this is... That was the warning. That was what was gonna happen, but here's the why in verse fourteen. That in the day I punish Israel for their transgressions, I will also visit destruction5:54 on the altars of Bethel. That's where the golden calf was. And the horns of the altar shall be cut off and fall to the ground. I will destroy the winter house along with the summer house.6:06 The houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall have an end, says the Lord. The target of god's judgment would be on their false worship,6:18 their false religion, and the prosperity, their opulence. It would be targeted by god. Alright. Chapter four is a hellfire and brimstone6:31 message as it concludes with this in verse twelve, prepare to meet your God. Let's begin verse one, chapter four. Hear this word, you cows of Bashan, who are on the mountains6:42 of Samaria, who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, who say to your husbands, bring wine, let us drink. Now here, we don't see it as well in the in the English translation, but sometimes6:54 it does appear. But, Amos has, I mean, he's he has some biting sarcasm. Alright. Here, the cows of Bashan were well fed fat cattle. They were well7:06 known. Amos applies this term to the women of Israel, fat with prosperity and enthralled with their false religion, but indifferent to God. Now I can see why Amos' message may7:18 not have been well received calling these women the fat heifers. Probably didn't get him many points. But there's another application that some see in this term as well. The use of the feminine cow versus7:30 the masculine bull is that the luxury and the excess of that day created effeminate leaders in the male class. And, alright, I'm gonna say it. We see that7:42 today in our own society. This has been a multi decade effort to emasculate men. You see, prosperity not only makes people soft, but the luxury7:54 of, of excess time not used for the essentials of life and without the discipline of devotion to god gives rise to foolishness that8:06 would never ever be entertained if the focus were more on the basic needs of life. Why do you think this whole transgenderism thing, this ideology has, you know,8:18 swept across our country? Got too much time on our hands. Verse four. Come to Bethel and transgress at Gilgal. Multiply transgressions. Bring your sacrifices every morning,8:30 your tithes every three days. Offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven. Proclaim and announce the free will offerings for this you love, you children of Israel, says the lord.8:42 So Amos here highlights the perverse nature of their claim to spirituality. Alright? They were claiming to be spiritual, but they were worshiping idols. They8:54 were giving the things of God over to the idols that they had created. Notice in verses six to eleven, Amos provides a list of the natural disasters9:06 that god had brought upon them over the preceding years. These... Those events that, we we see here, Amos listing out, were meant to bring the people9:18 to repentance. It was that chastisement. You... God chastens us. He... So that he doesn't have to judge us. He wants to bring us back into fellowship9:30 with him. Now consider that these are events or disasters that today would be explained away as the result of climate change or, you know, just just kinda happened. Or even worse, the9:42 action called for in response to those events by our blind leaders to address the symptoms are not the source of the disasters. In fact, those who do point to the9:54 source as Amos did draw the same response as the prophets of old. They are silenced. Alright? Here are the disasters Amos highlighted.10:05 Famine, drought, blight, plagues, sword, fire, and destruction. Now this chapter concludes with what I mentioned earlier. It sounds like a line from a John10:17 Wayne movie. Repent for you are about to meet your maker. Verse twelve. Therefore, thus will I do to you, oh Israel, because I will do10:29 this to you, prepare to meet your God, oh Israel. For behold, he who forms mountains and creates the winds, who declares to man what his thought is and makes the morningSeeking God and Establishing Justice 10:41 darkness, who treads the high places of the earth, the Lord God of hosts is his name. Now here's some application for consideration. Since September the10:53 eleventh of two thousand and one, nine eleven, America has experienced terrorist attacks, prolonged wars, financial collapse. We've had devastating storms, hurricanes, natural11:04 disasters, drought, the pandemic. You know, AIM is just what we read here. I mean, at least it should it it should prompt us to ask the question,11:16 have these things been from God to turn our hearts back to him, and have we turned back to him as a nation? I know... I remember after nine eleven for a couple of weeks there, there was a a return to the11:28 church, but then it dissipated. We've seen that before. They've not had a sustained turning back to God. Alright. Chapter five begins with the remedy, verse four,11:40 for thus says the Lord to the house of Israel, seek me and live. You You see, in God, life is found. Then the prophet states a concise indictment in verses ten through11:52 twelve verse ten. They hate the one who rebukes in the gate, and they abhor the one who speaks uprightly. Therefore, because you tread down the poor and you take grain taxes from12:03 him, though you have built houses of hewn stone, yet you shall not dwell on them. You have planted pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink wine from them. For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty12:15 sins afflicting the just and taking bribes, diverting the poor from justice at the gate. Three things he lists here, they hate the truth and honest judges.12:27 They robbed the poor and the just of justice. And and we see... We're gonna see this theme over, and in fact, Amos is very prevalent here in Amos, is justice. That12:39 is a primary focus of government and society to ensure justice, especially for the the the weak, vulnerable, and needy. And they they... As I said12:51 here, number three, they corrupted justice through bribes. Look at the effect of this corruption of justice. Verse thirteen. Therefore, the prudent keeps silent at that13:03 time for it is an evil time. Does that sound familiar? I think it does. The remedy is again stated, verse fourteen, seek good and not evil that you may live. So the13:15 lord, God of hosts, will be with you as you have spoken. Hate evil, love good, establish justice in the gate. It may be that the Lord God of hosts will be gracious13:27 to the remnant of Joseph. Then the Lord says enough of the ridges... Religious ritual and talk. Talk is cheap. In fact, not only is it cheap, it's offensive to13:39 god. Verse twenty one, I hate... I hate... I despise your feast days, and I do not savor your sacred assemblies. Though you offer me burnt offerings and your grain offerings,13:51 I will not accept them, nor will I regard your fattened peace offerings. Take away from me the noise of your songs, for I will not hear the melody of your stringed instruments.14:03 What is it then that God is looking for? If if the offerings, if the the music, if that was not what he wanted, what did he want? Verse twenty four. But let justice run down like14:15 water and righteousness like a mighty stream. Justice. What is it? Justice is upholding God's standard, recognizing that all14:26 people are created in his image and therefore, deserving of dignity and fairness. No one should place a thumb on the scales of justice whether for the rich14:38 or for the poor. All should be treated equally according to the unchanging, transcendent truth of God's created order, both revealed in nature and in his14:50 word. This is a fundamental responsibility of government to uphold justice, especially for those who are vulnerable, the needy, and the weak.15:02 Father, we thank you for your word. And, Lord, I I know that this is a, this was a message of Amos to to Israel, but, Lord, the principles15:14 apply even to us today. And so I pray that the Holy Spirit would continue to lead us on this journey, helping us to understand your word and its application to our livesApplication to America and Prayer 15:26 individually, but also, lord, collectively as the church and as a nation. And, father, I I pray that we would be sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit and not harden15:38 our hearts or close our ears to the warnings that we hear from your word, but may we respond. We thank you, Lord, for your word. We thank you for the Holy Spirit. We thank you for your mercy.15:50 We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Alright. Thanks for joining me this morning. Hey. Let me remind you for, for those that might be interested, our trip to Israel coming up in March. If16:02 you'd like more information about it, we're gonna go to many of these places that we're gonna be covering here in the, the weeks ahead. And so if you'd like to join us for the stand on the word Israel tour, just text16:14 Israel to six seven seven four two. That's Israel to six seven seven four two. Alright. Until next time. Keep standing on the word.16:25 Today's study comes from the Stand on the Word Bible Reading Plan available for free at frc dot org slash bible. By following along in just a few minutes a day, you16:37 can read through the entire Bible in just two years. Learn more and request the free reading guide at frc dot org slash bible.In this video 0:00 God Corrects Those He Loves2:30 Calamity as God's Warning5:40 Judgment on False Worship and Prosperity10:30 Seeking God and Establishing Justice15:20 Application to America and Prayer93.9K followers
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