June 20-22, 2015 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Amos 7:10-16a AMOS: HEAR THE WORD OF THE LORD!

MAJORING IN THE MINORS: AMOS

June 20-22, 2015

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Amos 7:10-16a

AMOS: HEAR THE WORD OF THE LORD!

1.     One vocation.

2.     Of many vocations.

3.     Our vocation!

Amos  7:10-16a  (NIV 1984) “Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent a message to Jeroboam king of Israel: "Amos is raising a conspiracy against you in the very heart of Israel. The land cannot bear all his words. ¹¹ For this is what Amos is saying: " 'Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will surely go into exile, away from their native land.' " ¹² Then Amaziah said to Amos, "Get out, you seer! Go back to the land of Judah. Earn your bread there and do your prophesying there. ¹³ Don't prophesy anymore at Bethel, because this is the king's sanctuary and the temple of the kingdom." ¹⁴ Amos answered Amaziah, "I was neither a prophet nor a prophet's son, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees. ¹⁵ But the LORD took me from tending the flock and said to me, 'Go, prophesy to my people Israel.' ¹⁶ Now then, hear the word of the LORD.”

           Go away! You hear that sometimes. When a child or an adult is having a hard day and just wants to be alone to collect themselves they might say that. Go away! Sometimes it happens for more serious reasons. If you are known at work as the one who stands up for what is right your co-workers might tell you to go away or more likely when they see you coming their unholy huddle will break apart and they will go away from you. It appears that many of the people of the United States are starting to say that to Bible believing Christians. Just go away! I say that because the current trends are astounding with the numbers of  those identifying themselves as Christians in America dwindling at a rapid pace and the number of those identifying themselves as deliberately non religious growing by leaps and bounds. At a recent conference the speaker brought to the forefront what we kind of already know. In America, every viewpoint and belief system is to be respected and tolerated except for the voice of the Bible believing Christian. “Go away! We don’t want you here. We don’t want to hear what you have to say.” Now while we might want to stamp our feet a little bit and say, “Fine. We will and see how you like it when you have to answer to God,”   there is a better way. We learn it from the prophet Amos.

          He served God a time when things were going pretty good for people in the nation of Israel. The nation had recovered from a recession of sorts that God had sent as a call to repentance. They were making good money. Beer and wine flowed freely. The people felt self sufficient, smug and apathetic to the true God who had blessed them. The morality was crumbling.  Any of this sounding familiar? Still God was faithful. He sent Amos to call the people back to them. Here’s some tidbits of what God had him say. Amos 2:“This is what the LORD says: "For three sins of Israel, even for four, I will not turn back [my wrath]. They sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals. 7 They trample on the heads of the poor as upon the dust of the ground and deny justice to the oppressed. Father and son use the same girl and so profane my holy name. Amos 4: Hear this word, you cows of Bashan on Mount Samaria, you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy and say to your husbands, "Bring us some drinks!" Go to Bethel and sin; go to Gilgal and sin yet more. Bring your sacrifices every morning, your tithes every three years. 5 Burn leavened bread as a thank offering and brag about your freewill offerings-- boast about them, you Israelites, for this is what you love to do," declares the Sovereign LORD.”  God was not happy.

          But the people didn’t listen. So God had Amos announce some consequences. The king would die. The country invaded and destroyed. That’s where our text picks up. “Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent a message to Jeroboam king of Israel: "Amos is raising a conspiracy against you in the very heart of Israel. The land cannot bear all his words. ¹¹ For this is what Amos is saying: " 'Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will surely go into exile, away from their native land.' " ¹² Then Amaziah said to Amos, "Get out, you seer! Go back to the land of Judah. Earn your bread there and do your prophesying there.” Go away! The priest representing the religious establishment. The king was involved. They all wanted Amos to go away. But he didn’t. Why not? Amos answered Amaziah, "I was neither a prophet nor a prophet's son, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees. ¹⁵ But the LORD took me from tending the flock and said to me, 'Go, prophesy to my people Israel.' ¹⁶ Now then, hear the word of the LORD.” Amos could not and would not go away because he was a prophet. That was his vocation. The job the Lord had called him to do. Speak God’s words. Hear the word of the Lord. Kind of like a pastor’s job. God wanted the people of Israel to hear His words. He picked Amos to tell them. That was his vocation.

          But it wasn’t his only vocation. Before being a prophet Amos had been a shepherd. He also was an arborist. Why? Because God wants sheep tended and taken care of. He wants trees taken care and fruit cultivated to feed people. I’m guessing Amos was just as faithful at those jobs as he was as a prophet. Amos had many different ways of serving the Lord. So do you. Have you ever thought about your vocations, your ways of serving the Lord? Everyone has them. Most have several. Being a child is a vocation that serves the Lord by respectfully obeying parents. A student is a vocation that serves the Lord by learning. A teacher teaches. A nurse attends and gives care. Mechanics fix. Police officers protect. Parents raise children. Organists play. There are many vocations.

          But no matter which vocation you are in, our vocation in every vocation is the same. Hear the word of the Lord. It’s why the Lord has us here. You heard what Jesus told us. You are the light of the world. You are the salt of the earth. We are needed. You heard how Paul encouraged Pastor Titus to teach. Everyone in their own vocation, young, old, husbands, wives teach, train. Hear the word of the Lord. You in your vocations. Us together as a congregation. Hear the word of the Lord. We might feel like shutting up and going away. Amos might have too. There are people in our country who need us. Not everyone will listen. But some will. By showing our neighbors our willing and cheerful obedience to God we are saying “Hear the word of the Lord. His ways are right.” When asked about abortion or any kind of sex outside of one man one woman marriage we can say it’s wrong because God says so. Hear the word of the Lord. But like Amos we are not here just to teach morality. We are really here to draw people to Jesus, to find a way to talk about the Savior. He is our only way to heaven and theirs too. Live your faith and you will get your opportunities. Recently I spoke with a young man, went through our school, now serving Jesus and us in the United States Marines. That’s his vocation. He told me of the conversations he gets into. “You really believe that stuff? Yes I do. The Bible is true.” He confessed he’d picked up bad language. “Why do you talk that way if you are a Christian?” You are right he tells them. I need to change but that’s why I need Jesus.” He thanked me for the training we gave him so that he has confidence to say “Hear the word of the Lord.” In every generation training our youth is so important so they carry out our vocation in every vocation.

          Now the sad truth is that the people Amos spoke to didn’t listen and are lost. There was nothing he could do to make the message more appealing or argued better. Rejection was not on him. It was on them. Sadly some of the people you and I witness to will also reject. On the last day they will not be able to call God unfair. He will say, I sent you … But there will be others who will be snatched from the fire because we didn’t go away. We didn’t stay quiet. We weren’t nasty belligerent jerks but by quietly living our faith while in our other vocations we gained opportunities to say in our own way, “Hear the word of the Lord!” The Gospel will work. People will be brought to faith in Jesus. They just need to hear the word of the Lord. Amos teaches us it’s our vocation. Amen.

June 6-8, 2015 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Hosea 5:13-6:6 “HOSEA TEACHES TRUE REPENTANCE!”

MAJORING IN THE MINORS: HOSEA

June 6-8, 2015

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Hosea 5:13-6:6

“HOSEA TEACHES TRUE REPENTANCE!”

1.     Own your sin.

2.     Real remorse.

3.     Run to God!

4.     A change of heart.

Hosea 5:13-6:6 (NIV 1984) "When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah his sores, then Ephraim turned to Assyria, and sent to the great king for help. But he is not able to cure you, not able to heal your sores. 14 For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, like a great lion to Judah. I will tear them to pieces and go away; I will carry them off, with no one to rescue them. 15 Then I will go back to my place until they admit their guilt. And they will seek my face; in their misery they will earnestly seek me. "Come, let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds. 2 After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence. 3 Let us acknowledge the LORD; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth." 4 "What can I do with you, Ephraim? What can I do with you, Judah? Your love is like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears. 5 Therefore I cut you in pieces with my prophets, I killed you with the words of my mouth; my judgments flashed like lightning upon you. 6 For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.”

          We are at the time of year when most students have graduated from their respective schools. College grads are hoping for jobs. Can you imagine being the proud parent of this student? He comes home and says, “Mom, Dad, I got a job!” “Wonderful!” you say. “What is it?” “ I’m going to be a prophet.” “What will you do?” “Well, the first thing I’m supposed to do is marry a prostitute. She’ll give me children, you grandchildren, but they won’t be mine. I’m not sure whose they will be because my wife will keep being unfaithful to me. But I’ll stick with her.” Not exactly what a parent hopes for, is it? Yet this is exactly what God asked the prophet Hosea to do. He married a prostitute named Gomer. Now the only other Gomer I know is Gomer Pyle. This woman was a pile, a pile of unfaithfulness. After she and Hosea were married she continued to sleep around. Hosea stuck with her. Who would do such a thing? God would. God did. That was a reason behind this reprehensible relationship. It was on object lesson.  A visual aid. A picture of the relationship between the people of Israel and God. God was staying faithful to His people even though they cheated on Him by trusting in idols, worshipping them because their style of worship was filled with sinful fun. All God wanted was to have them back. So He used Hosea and this awful life as yet another call to repentance. That’s how this Minor Prophet serves us today. Hosea teaches us true repentance.

          Repentance is necessary to have a relationship with God. Believers are repenters and repenters are believers. Our new confirmands who are looking forward to their first communion were taught the importance of repentance before the Lord’s Supper so it is not taken to one’s judgment. Just what does it mean to repent? Hosea teaches us first to own your sin. And the way he teaches us is by the bad example of the people he served. “When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah his sores, then Ephraim turned to Assyria, and sent to the great king for help. But he is not able to cure you, not able to heal your sores.” The people of Israel did not own their sin. When God sent troubles to them to call them to repentance they did not acknowledge their sin and turn to God.  They looked to the country of Assyria for help. Do you own your sin or do you make excuses and look for other solutions rather than repentance? What language do we use as we post and tweet? “Everyone talks that way!” Own your sin! We take God’s name in vain by saying “Oh my G…” but only seem to care if the pastor’s around. Own your sin. What else will worship of God take second place to in your lives? Own your sin. Only then is there true repentance.

          Real remorse is also a part of true repentance. It looked like the people Hosea spoke to were remorseful. "Come, let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds. 2 After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence. 3 Let us acknowledge the LORD; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth." This sure sounds good. But that’s all it was. Words.  You can tell from God’s response. "What can I do with you, Ephraim? What can I do with you, Judah? Your love is like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears. 5 Therefore I cut you in pieces with my prophets, I killed you with the words of my mouth; my judgments flashed like lightning upon you.” God compares their sorrow over sin to the morning mist that is burned off  by the sun. Real remorse is different. We know that. Every parent has gone through the “Now say you’re sorry,” thing with a child knowing full well that saying sorry isn’t the same as being sorry. Sometimes our sinful natures want us to feel bad that we got caught instead of sad that we offended God yet again. Sometimes in teaching children the seriousness of sin you might use the picture of each sin pounding the nail further into Jesus’ hand or pushing the crown of thorns down harder and harder. The reality is if sin could be paid for that way we all could pay for our own. But it can’t. The suffering that Jesus endured to pay for sin is worse than we can imagine. Real remorse recognizes the damage done and accepts responsibility. Israel didn’t but we still can.

          And we can do what God was looking for. Run to him. He tried to get Israel to do that.  “For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, like a great lion to Judah. I will tear them to pieces and go away; I will carry them off, with no one to rescue them. 15 Then I will go back to my place until they admit their guilt. And they will seek my face; in their misery they will earnestly seek me.” God used invading armies to push the people to return to Him. That was the goal. Sometimes we need pushes too. Don’t misunderstand me. Every “bad” thing that happens in our life, whether accident or sickness or misfortune, is not God calling us to repentance. On the other hand people loved by God are wise to ask themselves if it is. God chastens those He loves. He does things to keep us close. Far better that we never give Him reasons to tear us to pieces to get us to run back. Far better to run to God every day. When you do what will you find? A merciful God who is faithful  in spite of our unfaithfulness. What will God say when you say “I’m sorry for my sins.” He will say, “I forgive you.” You know it because He promises it and enabled it by giving His Son who has already been punished for every sin.

          That leads us to have a change of mind about sin. That’s also an aspect of repentance. “ For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.” Things on the outside are easy. You can say you are sorry without being sorry. You can attend worship without worshipping. You can give money without being thankful. God wants the heart. Mercy, better here, faithful love instead of unfaithfulness. Repentance happens on the inside first and then shows on the outside. First comes “I don’t want that sin as a part of my life,” then comes the efforts to make that true. Hosea teaches true repentance.

          I feel bad for the guy. He had a tough ministry position to fill. The fact that he stuck with an unfaithful wife highlighted God’s faithfulness to unfaithful people. He stayed faithful to this people because He had promised a Savior. Sadly Israel still didn’t get it. But we do. Wouldn’t the story have read better if Hosea had gotten to marry a faithful wife? Let’s have that be the picture of our relationship to God. Let’s be faithful to Him. We are when we live a life of repentance like Hosea taught. Own your sin. Have real remorse. Run to God daily for forgiveness and show Him a change of mind. Amen.