Courage Under Fire
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For all of my life since coming to faith in Jesus, I have been Baptist. I don’t think I’m just Baptist because that was the denomination I was saved in. I’m Baptist by conviction. I’m Baptist with a capital B. I have studied Baptist history, studied the Baptist Faith & Message, and believe that if I could do it all over again, I would still choose to be Baptist. I can’t speak for any other denomination, but in the Baptist world, the most popular verses in all of scripture next to John 3:16 are Matthew 28:19-20.
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
We call this the Great Commission. It is the final words spoken in the gospel of Matthew and some of the last words Jesus spoke prior to ascending into heaven. These are our marching orders. Our mission to share Jesus to the world comes from these two verses.
Remember that God does not call people based on their own abilities and talents, but on His.
but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
We see this modeled for us all over the Old Testament as God called some of the most unlikely men and women to do great things. Amos wasn’t trained for this, but he was called.
As we jump into our text this morning, recall that Amos was a shepherd and grower of sycamore figs from the southern kingdom. He was sent to the northern kingdom to both warn them of their actions and call them back to faithful covenantal relationship with God.
In chapter five, we saw Israel worshipped God in vain because they did so on their terms, not His. Chapter six addresses the false sense of security Israel was in because they felt secure in their riches. In chapter seven, God shows Amos that judgment is about to fall on the people. But starting in verse ten we get a small break and are presented with a narrative where Amaziah, priest of Bethel, brings accusations against Amos.
Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent word to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel; the land is unable to endure all his words.
“For thus Amos says, ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword and Israel will certainly go from its land into exile.’ ”
Then Amaziah said to Amos, “Go, you seer, flee away to the land of Judah and there eat bread and there do your prophesying!
“But no longer prophesy at Bethel, for it is a sanctuary of the king and a royal residence.”
Then Amos replied to Amaziah, “I am not a prophet, nor am I the son of a prophet; for I am a herdsman and a grower 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 hear the word of the Lord: you are saying, ‘You shall not prophesy against Israel nor shall you speak against the house of Isaac.’
“Therefore, thus says the Lord, ‘Your wife will become a harlot in the city, your sons and your daughters will fall by the sword, your land will be parceled up by a measuring line and you yourself will die upon unclean soil. Moreover, Israel will certainly go from its land into exile.’ ”
What we learn from Amos’ life is not all that different from the Christian experience.
For the Christian, opposition is a guaranteed experience.
For the Christian, opposition is a guaranteed experience.
Amaziah is sending word to the king in opposition of Amos and his message. Now, this move might sting, but it should not be unexpected. Jesus was speaking to Nicodemus in John chapter three, having just finished telling him that any who believe in Him, the Son of God, will not perish but have eternal life.
“This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.
“For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.
Jesus is telling Nicodemus that the world is shrouded in darkness brought about by sin. Adam and Eve rebelled against God, desiring to call the shots themselves, and the curse of sin fell upon all of creation. Ever since, mankind has sought to be the gods of their own lives, accountable to no one but themselves. The darkness makes it difficult to see what is taking place. Light reveals the truth of a matter. When the truth is revealed, you either have to accept it and change accordingly, or deny it in an attempt to cover up what was exposed.
There is a moral standard that everyone inherently knows, but does not follow perfectly. Jesus, who is God Himself, has revealed to us what the perfect moral standard looks like. He came to His own people, exposed their deeds, and they hated Him for it.
“If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you.
Take a look at what happened to Amos in this passage. Amaziah misrepresented him by telling the king Amos had conspired against him. He tried to temp Amos into silence by giving him the opportunity to go home. He was confronted as Amaziah tried to silence him. But they did this to Jesus too.
The religious elites in Jesus’ day misrepresented Him by accusing Him of blasphemy. There were temptations in the wilderness by Satan himself to take the easy way out. He was confronted often through the rejection of His message. This is ultimately what led Him to the cross. Jesus didn’t die because He actually committed a capital offense. He died because the darkness hated the light so badly that they would do anything to snuff it out.
So remember that engaging in the battle for truth will bring opposition.
“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”
Opposition to the truth is a guaranteed experience.
We must be confident in our divine calling.
We must be confident in our divine calling.
We get into verse fourteen here where Amos stands not on his own authority, but on God’s authority to call him and commission him into His service. Amos was the prophet who wasn’t a prophet. He wasn’t trained for this. He didn’t go to a seminary or prophet school. Prophesying isn’t even the family business. God called him to it because God wanted to. Amos did not possess the skill set and credentials of a professional prophet. He was a country boy who knew the truth and knew somebody needed to do something about what he was seeing in the north.
The very second you placed your trust in Jesus for salvation, you began a real personal relationship with Him. You were also automatically enlisted into His service. Every authentic believer in Christ is a disciple, and every disciple is an ambassador.
Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
An ambassador is a representative of a sovereign entity. We have ambassadors representing the U.S all over the world. Those ambassadors are not just ambassadors from 9-5. They are on call 24/7. Everywhere they go, everything they do, communicates something about the sovereign they represent. An ambassador does not speak on his own authority. He only speaks on behalf of the sovereign. Take a look at the second part of that verse: “as though God were making an appeal through us.” An ambassador is not sent to his own people, but to people of another culture. You are either already a part of God’s kingdom, and therefore an ambassador of it, or you are not. While we need plenty of reminding of what an ambassador is supposed to do, the mission is to make an appeal to those outside the kingdom to be reconciled to God so they may become a part of His kingdom. One day in the future, God’s kingdom will be all there is.
You are already called. The great commission stems to all of Jesus’ followers. You do not have to question whether you are called to speak the truth to the culture around you. Ambassadors do not get to decide when and how to represent their leader. Everything the ambassador does and says is a reflection of his sovereign. You are already communicating what you believe about God in the way you live your life. Be confident in that God has called you to represent Him to those around you.
When we are confident in our calling, we will have courage to stand firm in times of opposition.
When we are confident in our calling, we will have courage to stand firm in times of opposition.
In today’s world, authentic Christianity is not popular or welcome. We carry the truth of mankind’s sinful condition, God’s grace and mercy in providing a solution for the payment of said sins, and offering forgiveness through His Son Jesus and bringing us back into proper fellowship with him as citizens of His kingdom and members of His family. The gospel shines a light on the darkness and exposes the wickedness of our sins and the world hates it. We must expect and be willing to endure criticism and hostility. It was no different for Jesus himself.
Let your light shine.
Let your light shine.
Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, calls his hearers to shine their light before others.
“Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
This is not merely done in living an ethical or moral lifestyle, but in engaging the culture with truth, shining light into dark places by speaking into situations that don’t line up with reality.
Paul writes encouraging and challenging words to his son in the faith, Timothy, saying,
For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.
Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God,
who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity,
but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,
for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher.
For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.
Your confidence in your calling gives you courage under fire.