Sermon Tone Analysis

Secular:

* God who loves…

* Odd text to talk about it…

* But God has made promises to those who follow him faithfully…

*  Gen 15… Abraham….

God to take punishment

* Exodus 20… Moses….

God to be responsible for both sides

* Jesus on the cross….

* God’s holiness demands judgement

* God’s love invites to relationship

* God’s mercy commits him to pay the price

Biblical:

Amos 9:1 I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and He said, "Smite the capitals so that the thresholds will shake, And break them on the heads of them all!

Then I will slay the rest of them with the sword; They will not have a fugitive who will flee, Or a refugee who will escape.

2 "Though they dig into Sheol, From there will My hand take them; And though they ascend to heaven, From there will I bring them down.

3 "Though they hide on the summit of Carmel, I will search them out and take them from there; And though they conceal themselves from My sight on the floor of the sea, From there I will command the serpent and it will bite them.

4 "And though they go into captivity before their enemies, From there I will command the sword that it slay them, And I will set My eyes against them for evil and not for good." 5 The Lord GOD of hosts, The One who touches the land so that it melts, And all those who dwell in it mourn, And all of it rises up like the Nile And subsides like the Nile of Egypt; 6 The One who builds His upper chambers in the heavens And has founded His vaulted dome over the earth, He who calls for the waters of the sea And pours them out on the face of the earth, The LORD is His name.

7 "Are you not as the sons of Ethiopia to Me, O sons of Israel?" declares the LORD.

"Have I not brought up Israel from the land of Egypt, And the Philistines from Caphtor and the Arameans from Kir? 8 "Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are on the sinful kingdom, And I will destroy it from the face of the earth; Nevertheless, I will not totally destroy the house of Jacob," Declares the LORD.

9 "For behold, I am commanding, And I will shake the house of Israel among all nations As grain is shaken in a sieve, But not a kernel will fall to the ground.

10 "All the sinners of My people will die by the sword, Those who say, 'The calamity will not overtake or confront us.' 11 "In that day I will raise up the fallen booth of David, And wall up its breaches; I will also raise up its ruins And rebuild it as in the days of old; 12 That they may possess the remnant of Edom And all the nations who are called by My name," Declares the LORD who does this.

13 "Behold, days are coming," declares the LORD, "When the plowman will overtake the reaper And the treader of grapes him who sows seed; When the mountains will drip sweet wine And all the hills will be dissolved.

14 "Also I will restore the captivity of My people Israel, And they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them; They will also plant vineyards and drink their wine, And make gardens and eat their fruit.

15 "I will also plant them on their land, And they will not again be rooted out from their land Which I have given them," Says the LORD your God.

Personal:

*  Bribing our kids…

* You behave and I’ll….

Take you to DQ for a shake

* Do all your homework and try hard and you’ll do well in this class

* Pour into your relationship… invest well… and you will have something to cherish…

* We know that if they not behave they don’t get the treat

* Don’t do the homework….

Don’t do well

*  Failure to invest in your relationship… your standing on sinking sand…

* Scripture talks of blessings and curses…

* Apart from God we have curses

* In line with God we receive blessing…

* It really is a relationship issue

Bridge:

* God speaks of a relationship with him that is blessed…

* Living to the glory of God

* Lives set apart

* Loving whom and what He Loves

* Love and serve Him

* The northern Kingdom… and soon the Southern would fall as well….

* God speaks of a relationship with him that is cursed…

* Living to the glory of self

* Lives set inter-mingled with the world

* Failing to love whom and what He Loves

* Failing to love and serve Him

* God is a jealous God….

*  He wants to shower you with his Love, grace, mercy, kindness…

* He wants you to live eternally sold out for his glory….

Body:

*/I.

I am Warning You/*

Amos 9:1 I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and He said, "Smite the capitals so that the thresholds will shake, And break them on the heads of them all!

Then I will slay the rest of them with the sword; They will not have a fugitive who will flee, Or a refugee who will escape.

* Lord vs Lord

* Identified wrong worship….

* And will bring all the alters down….

* This was widespread… Jerusalem, Bethel, Gilgal….

* And none will escape…

* The crime… perverting the religion of Yahweh

* Claim to be a believer… and live for the world…

* Wrong heart…

2 "Though they dig into Sheol, From there will My hand take them; And though they ascend to heaven, From there will I bring them down.

* There is no where to hide…

* From the heights of heaven to the depths of Sheol (realm of  the dead)….

* There is no where outside God’s reach…

* Comfort to those who follow…

* Horror to those who will be judged…

* Deuteronomy 32:22 For a fire is kindled in My anger, And burns to the lowest part of Sheol, And consumes the earth with its yield, And sets on fire the foundations of the mountains

* And there is no one to save you apart from God….

* The helplessness curses….

* Deuteronomy 28:29 and you will grope at noon, as the blind man gropes in darkness, and you will not prosper in your ways; but you shall only be oppressed and robbed continually, */with none to save you/*.

* Deuteronomy 32:39 'See now that I, I am He, And there is no god besides Me; It is I who put to death and give life.

I have wounded and it is I who heal, */And there is no one who can deliver from My hand./*

3 "Though they hide on the summit of Carmel, I will search them out and take them from there; And though they conceal themselves from My sight on the floor of the sea, From there I will command the serpent and it will bite them.

* Now Geographical extremities… protection from humans… not from God

* From Carmel… a high and densely forested peak…

* To the very depths of the sea….

* You are never beyond God’s reach…

* Comforting and horrifying

 

4 "And though they go into captivity before their enemies, From there I will command the sword that it slay them, And I will set My eyes against them for evil and not for good."

* Even going into exile will provide inadequate cover….

* Another land, another king….

* “I will set my eye”… a phrase that mocks their claimed status as “children of God”

 

Amos breaks into an old Yahwistic hymn…

 5 The Lord GOD of hosts, The One who touches the land so that it melts, And all those who dwell in it mourn, And all of it rises up like the Nile And subsides like the Nile of Egypt; 6 The One who builds His upper chambers in the heavens And has founded His vaulted dome over the earth, He who calls for the waters of the sea And pours them out on the face of the earth, The LORD is His name.

* Amos is using an old hymn to show that God, because He is holy and just….

Would not just use his power for Israel… but when justified… use it against them!

* Yahweh has control of over creation….

* It is a reflection too of the Lord vs Lord in v. 4….

* Because this right and this power is attributed to the personal name of God… */The LORD is His name/*.

7 "Are you not as the sons of Ethiopia to Me, O sons of Israel?" declares the LORD.

"Have I not brought up Israel from the land of Egypt, And the Philistines from Caphtor and the Arameans from Kir?

* In this verse… Amos points them back to say… the rise and the fall of the Nile is the work of God… and Ethiopia is as subject to the power of God….

* Israel is not exempt from God’s power