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You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You Good evening and welcome to Verity Baptist Church. Let's go ahead And find our seats this evening Find the seats and find a hymnal close to you and turn to page number 296 Song number 296 We're gonna open the service with follow on Down in the valley with my savior, I would go song number 296 We're gonna sing it out On the first Down in the valley with my savior. I would go Where the flowers are blooming and the sweet waters flow? Everywhere he leads me I would follow follow on Walking in his footsteps till the ground be one Follow follow I would follow jesus anywhere everywhere I would follow on Follow follow I would follow jesus Everywhere he leads me I would follow on song number 296 on the second Down in the valley with my savior. I would go Where the storms are sweeping and the dark waters flow with his length. Give me I will never never fear My lord is here Follow follow I would follow jesus anywhere everywhere I would follow on follow follow Everywhere he leads me I would follow on hope you guys have warmed up you're actually singing well But you can do better. All right, so song number 296. Let's finish strong on the third Down in the valley or upon a mountain sea Close beside my savior would my soul ever keep he will lead me safely in that path that he has trod Out to where they gathered on the hills of god follow follow I would follow jesus I would follow on Follow follow I would follow jesus everywhere. He leads me I would follow on Amen great singing welcome to the wednesday evening service here at verity baptist church We're glad to see everyone here this evening. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer dear heavenly father lord And we thank you again for the opportunity to come out this church this evening lord Thank you for the people that are here lord to Spend some time lord to sing for you and to hear your words preach pray that you bless the service bless The rest of the evening and we love you and jesus. I pray amen. All right, turn to page number 377 Song number 377 It's a soul winning song So if you're a soul winner, you better sing out. All right song number 377 Rescue the perishing sing it out on the first Rescue the perishing care for the dying snatch them in pity from sin and the grave We pour the airing once lifts up the fallen Tell them of jesus the mighty to save rescue the perishing care for the dying jesus is merciful Jesus will sing Though they are sliding him still he is waiting waiting for penitence out to receive Bleed with him earnestly bleed with him gently Rescue the perishing care for the dying jesus is merciful Jesus will save on a third Down in the human heart crushed by the tempter Feelings lie buried and grace can restore Touched by a loving heart awakened by kindness boards that are broken will vibrate once more rescue the perishing Jesus is merciful Jesus will say sing it out on the last Rescue the perishing to be demanding strength for thy labor the lord will provide Back to the narrow way patiently win them tell the poor wonder a savior has died Rescue the perishing care for the dying jesus is merciful Jesus will say amen great singing Amen well we welcome you to the midweek service here at ready Baptist Church. We're glad you're with us Let's go ahead and take our bulletins We'll look at some announcements real quickly If you did not receive a bulletin on your way in just raise your hand and one of our ushers can get one for You if need a bulletin just put your hand up and we'll get one for you the verse this week Is Proverbs 28 5 evil men understand not judgment, but they that seek the Lord understand all Things and that's a good verse that we like that if you open up your bullets, and you'll see our service times Sunday morning service at 10 30 a.m. And We do invite you to be with us of course on Sunday morning on the Lord's Day for Church this coming Sunday is a Special service, and we'll talk a little bit about that here in a minute Sunday evening service 6 p.m And then the Wednesday evening Bible study if you look at our so many times our main so many times on Saturday mornings at 10 a.m. And then we have additional sewing times on Thursdays Fridays and Sundays at 2 p.m So if you'd like to go sewing during any of those times We'll have an opportunity for you to be able to do that We of course are a family integrated church what that means is that children and infants are always welcomed in the service We do not separate children from their parents for any reason We do have mother baby rooms and daddy rooms available for your convenience So if you have a child that's been distracting during the service So if you need some privacy, we would encourage you to use those rooms as needed if you need to be baptized Please let us know you can let us know on your communication card And we will follow up with you in regards to that if you look at the announcements and upcoming events Of course, if you finish nine chapters a day, and you've not yet told us about it Please make sure you do that on your communication card And then just the big events is this Friday February 10th at 6 30 p.m. We're having our married couple sweetheart banquet and it's gonna be a lot of fun I don't I don't remember the number but I think we've got like 30 30 or 35 couples signed up signed up for the married couple sweetheart banquets So that'll be a good time. We'll have a nice dinner together I'll be preaching a short sermon and then we'll play the not so newlywed game and it's just it's just fun I think sometimes couples they think too hard on these things and it's just a game and it'll be fine The questions are silly. They're not some deep question. We're not gonna ask you to reveal some personal information Alright, but it'll be a good time and the couples that the couple that wins gets a $50 gift card to the Cheesecake Factory and We'd love for you to sign up or actually you the deadlines already passed You can't sign up, but I want to remind you that you need to that It's this Friday. So don't forget about that starts at 6 30 And then of course this Sunday is I love my church Sunday You should have one of these cards there in your bulletin and we are gonna have a special Service we'd love for you to join us Of course We need you to be here and then we want you to invite someone someone want to be thinking about Somebody that you can invite to church on Sunday if you've been looking for a reason to invite somebody to church For you soul winners. This is a good time If you've got someone that you've been following up with this gives you an excuse to call them or contact them You can take a picture of this and send it to them We're gonna have bags of pink vanilla and caramel Valentine's Day popcorn for your family in attendance The choir will be singing the orchestra have special music. And of course, I'll be preaching a special I love my church Sunday sermon that morning and in the evening. We're having a potluck after the evening service So after the evening service in the fellowship hall, we'll have a potluck and I want to ask you To make sure that you come that you are here and that you bring Food and that you bring enough food for your family and to share. All right, that's the only way a potluck works If five of you show up with nothing that doesn't help So make sure you bring enough food for yourself and to share That would be great or if three of you or if one of you single guys show up with nothing now I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. The single guys can show up with nothing. Nobody expects anything from them anyway, but everybody else Please help us with that and we appreciate it Anyway now they're gonna show up with a bunch of stuff good good. All right. I don't know why we're talking about this announcements ladies are invited to a baby shower miss a Jana Saturday, February 25th 3 p.m. And She is having a boy. She's registered on Amazon. They're having a potluck. They never have problems at these baby showers with potlucks So just saying they do the job with that homeschool group They've got Valentine's Day party on Tuesday, February 14th My wife has a handout for that if you need it and They've got P class on Thursday, February 16th other things there for you to look at Please don't forget to turn your cell phones off and place them on silent during the service They're not a distraction to anybody If you look at the back of the bulletin birthdays and anniversaries for the month of February We had a Miss Katie Rosenberg's birthday was on February 6th, Joanna Nello Tesco's birthday was yesterday February 7th. Miss Courtney Reuben had a birthday yesterday, February 7th Laurel Reuben has a birthday on February 10th And miss Lisa sweet and has a birthday on February 11th. Praise report money matters All those things are there for you to look at and I think that's it for all of the announcements So we're gonna go ahead and sing page number three zero eight 308 I surrender all as we prepare to receive the offering this evening 308 I surrender all To Jesus I surrender sing it out on the first all to Jesus. I Surrender all to him. I freely Love and trust him in his presence daily Surrender all I Surrender all All to me my blessed Savior I Surrender all 308 sing it out on the second all to Jesus I surrender Surrender Worldly pleasures all forsaken Jesus take me now. I surrender all All to thee my blessed Savior I surrender 308 we're gonna sing it out on the third. I'm gonna ask the the piano to just slow it down Just a little bit. Let's sing it with some purpose on the third all to Jesus I Surrender make me save your holy thine Let me feel the Holy Spirit Spirit No, that are my I surrender all All to thee my blessed Savior I Surrender good singing out on the last all to Jesus Surrender Lord, I give myself to the Fill me with my love and power By blessing fall on me I surrender all Oh All to be my blessed Savior I surrender Amen good singing we'll have the guys come up and help us with the offering at this time And let's go ahead and bow our heads and have a word of prayer Heavenly Father Lord we do come to you tonight asking you bless the offering Lord We pray that you bless the gift and the giver Pray Lord that you would bless the time that we have set aside for prayer and for the preaching of your word in Jesus name We pray amen You You You You Amen all right well I've got a baptism certificate to hand out real quickly before we get into our prayer sheet and The this certificate of baptism is awarded to Ada Moncio Sanchez and recognition of her baptism on the 15th day of January of the year 2023 Presented by Verity Baptist Church and has the verse Romans 6 4 therefore We are buried with him a baptism into that that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father even so we should walk in units of life And we've got some pictures here for Ada to remember the day of her baptism and let's go ahead and give her a round of applause Okay Praise the Lord for that and Let's go and take our prayer sheets tonight if you did not get a prayer sheet on your way in just raise your hand And one of our ushers can get one for you if need a prayer sheet Just put your hand up and we will get one for you, and I would like you to write in a request if you would not mind and This is a request for some of you may not Know him some of you may remember him But missionary Dave kabuntala is a missionary that we support here at Verity Baptist Church and He I don't know if you remember him, I don't know how long we've been supporting him I think we've been supporting him since like 2015 and I remember this was before the new IFB really did any sort of mission stuff And I was praying that I want our church to support a missionary, but I want support I didn't mind an old IFB missionary, but I just wanted to make sure it was the right guy remember that week I was praying my wife, and I were out of town. I was preaching somewhere, and I got an email From him and there was a video and the video said He didn't go to Bible college And it talked a lot about soul winning and I said I like this guy and I got a hold of him and he came and preached here and he's a good guy and He's been over in Cebu for years now We've been supporting him for a while doing a good work there and his wife miss angel kabuntala was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and so we're just praying for Her to be able to beat this and praying for the ministry there of course for brother Dave and for he's got two sons So if you would not mind just adding him and you may not even know him, but our church does support them We've been doing it for years. So please be in prayer for Them let's go ahead and take these requests the Lord I'll pray out loud, and I would ask that you would follow along in your mind in your heart Let's pray together. Heavenly Father Lord. We come to you tonight asking for these requests from our church family and Lord we begin with these health requests we pray for brother Ron of course That you would help him to with his health to get better, and he just got transferred to a rehab facility and Pray that you would help him I think he's gonna be there for about a month. I pray you'd help him to get the help. He needs and to be able to get back home soon and help him to recover from the stroke that he had and We pray for brother Joe Maples praying for Joe jr. For his healing. We pray for Jeffrey love who's praying for His cousin's Laurie's daughter who is currently in the hospital after a car accident We're asking Lord that you would help the the daughter to get better to get The help that she needs Lord we pray for brother Aldo praying for healing for his co-worker Dave who has cancer James villa praying for health for his friend Martin Miss Christine Ortiz praying for healing for herself and her left leg also from a minor stroke that she had last week and Brother Salvador praying for his health. Ms. Dogma praying for her relief and her pain and Of course praying for little you're at sea to continue to be healthy and strong Lord We ask for all these individuals. We pray that you put your healing hand over them And Lord we pray that you would help them to get better We ask that you would give wisdom to the nurses dealing with them and Lord we ask that you would Heal them were relief pain that you would help them to get out of the hospital And then Lord we pray for the kabuntala family For missionary Dave kabuntala and his wife angel and Lord we we pray For her specifically she's been diagnosed with breast cancer and Lord we're asking that the cancer would would be localized and not spread and we're asking for wisdom and discernment for both the doctors and nurses that are dealing with them and for Brother Dave and for his wife as they consider the different options that they would need to take Lord we ask for complete healing and Lord we understand that we have to pray according to your will but Lord We are joining together and asking that if it be your will That you would put your healing hand over her help her to recover completely from this Or the ministry stressful isn't and it's stressful enough and to have to be dealing with something like this on top of all the other Responsibilities can be overwhelming and what we ask that you would please be with the kabuntala family at this time I thank you that their spirits are good and Lord I ask that you would heal his wife Lord I ask that you would help them to know that there are people that are praying for them care about them Love them what I pray that you would use this We know that all things work together for good and we pray that you'd use it in their lives but we also pray for these that have requests dealing with family members and salvation For the blotting miss Antonina praying for their family salvation and miss Natalie praying for the salvation of her husband and family Evan Smith praying for the salvation of his friends who are gonna be visiting from out of town and a couple of weeks Brother, although praying for the salvation of his parents and grandparents miss Christine praying for her children and grandchildren's salvation And miss dogma praying for her daughter and her family salvation Lord. We ask that you would please Be with all of these individuals Lord We pray that you Would help these individuals to come to the place where they would be willing to hear the gospel to hear from you We pray that a soul winner would clearly communicate the gospel to them or we pray that they might Be saved and then Lord we pray that for these that are having requests for their family members We pray for miss Kathy graves praying for herself and her family and also for brother max praying for safe travel as he visits his family this month and Lord also, we're praying for brother Salvador for his family and Lord asking that you would bless all these individuals We have a praise report from brother Ike that His girls are doing well in school got good remarks from their teachers for great behavior And thank you for that and Lord we pray for the ladies in our church that are expecting For miss May and miss a Jana the Schuyler miss Karen miss Ava and miss Rebecca We ask that you to give them all healthy pregnancies with no issues and no Complications Lord we pray for miss Christine Ortiz and brother Salvador for their Walk with you and Lord we pray for their finances and work that you've blessed them and help them in regards to those situations the Lord we pray for these that have unspoken requests miss Tamara and miss Denise miss Laura Beth miss Natalie and Brother Salvador miss dogma all having unspoken requesting, you know what their petitions are You know what they're asking for Lord. We pray that you would please answer according to your will Lord we ask for our church we pray for the prison ministry and for the families that are being impacted to that then you would continue to bless and Help or we pray for the upcoming events coming up for our church for this weekend the I love my church Sunday and also For the next generation youth rally coming up in the vision offering Lord We pray that you would bless these events We pray that you would help us to use these events to further the work of God and that people would come to church And then Lord up for I love my church Sunday I pray you'd give us guests that would get saved and that we could Help them grow in the Lord and be disciple Lord. I pray for this youth rally I pray for the 50-plus teens that have registered to come and spend a couple of days with us To pray Lord you to help everybody be safe help everybody. Have a good time the Lord I specifically pray for the preaching that all that they'll hear The short sermons in the morning and the full length sermons in the evening So Lord that you would work on the hearts of these young people or that they might Give their lives to you and walk with you and be right with you And what I asked for the vision offering that we have coming up that you would bless the vision offering that you'd help us to Be able to give sacrificially and that we might be able to continue to further the work that we're accomplishing here What I asked for our church here in Sacramento And for our church plants in Manila from Pong and B. Cole what I asked that you would Bless these locations and help these locations And then Lord I ask for tonight as we take some time to look at another chapter of the Word of God I pray that this time would not be wasted I pray that you'd prepare the hearts of everybody that's here tonight That we might hear from you that we might receive your word and that we might respond to it in the matchless name of Christ We pray amen Please open up to Amos chapter number four Amos chapter number four If you need about put your hand up in one of these we're gonna bring your Bible Amos chapter number four if you need about keep your hand up and she'll come by Amos chapter number four we will read the entire chapter as our custom Amos 4 beginning verse number one Hear this word ye kind of patient that are in the mountain of Samaria Which oppressed the poor which crushed the needy which say to their masters bring and let us drink The Lord God is sworn by his holiness that lo the days shall come upon you But he will take you away with hooks and your posterity with flash fish hooks And he shall go out at the beaches Breaches every cow at that which is before her he shall cast him into the palace saith the Lord Come to Bethel and transgress at Gilgal multiply transgression and bring your sacrifices Every morning and your tides after three years and offer sacrifice of Thanksgiving with leaven and proclaim and publish The free offerings for this like if you owe you children of Israel say it the Lord God And I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities and want to have bread in all your places Yet have ye not returned unto me saith the Lord and also I have withholding the rain from you When there were yet three months to the harvest and I caused it to rain upon one city and caused it not to rain upon Another city one piece was rained upon and the peace were upon it rained not withered So two or three cities wandered unto one city to drink water, but they were not satisfied Yet have ye not returned unto me saith the Lord I have smitten you with blasting and mildew When your gardens and your vineyards and your fig trees and your olive trees increased the Palmer worm devoured them Yet have ye not returned unto me saith the Lord I have sent among you the pestilence after the manner of Egypt your young men Have I slain with a sword and I've taken away your horses and I've made the stink of your camps to come up unto your nostrils Yet have ye not returned unto me saith the Lord I have overthrown some of you as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah He were as a firebrand plucked out of the burning yet. Have ye not returned unto me saith the Lord And therefore thus will I do unto thee Oh Israel and because I'll do this this unto thee prepare to meet thy God Oh Israel for lo he that formeth the mountains and created the wind and the clearest and to man What is his thought that make it the morning darkness and tread upon the high places of the earth? The Lord the God of hosts is his name. Let's pray Heavenly Father. Thank you for this evening God, I thank you for your word and for a church from that's here as he please Give us all a tender heart to the message tonight God as he please be the pastor to strengthen them and from their spirit. We love you and I just need pray. Amen Amen Alright, we're there in the book of Amos Amos chapter number four And of course on Wednesday nights, we are making our way through the book of Amos. We are in a chapter by chapter study taking one chapter a night and Tonight we find ourselves in the second of three sermons in chapter If you remember last week, I brought up to you that in chapters three four and five. We've got three different sermons and then Amos preaches towards the northern kingdom of Israel and All three sermons if you remember begin with this phrase Hear this word if you notice there in Amos chapter 4 and verse 1 the Bible says hear this word If you just flip back real quickly to Amos chapter 3 and verse 1 He says hear this word and if you look at Amos chapter 5 He says hear this word So we've got these three sermons in these three chapters chapter 3 chapter 4 chapter 5 and tonight We're are in the second of this little mini series that Amos is preaching to the northern kingdom of Israel and Tonight we're looking at a chapter that has 13 verses not very long However the chapter Can be structured or divided into four different sections and that's what I'm gonna do tonight I'm just gonna walk you through this chapter and give you the four different sections and I'll give you the titles that I've given to the four sections in these chapters and the Titles are taken from the text itself and sometimes every once in a while You'll be reading through the Bible and there'll be a little phrase that just kind of pops out at you And a lot of times when that happens for me I end up preaching an entire sermon maybe just from that phrase or the Inspiration of that phrase in this chapter there are several of those types of phrases and I'll point them out to you and each one of them serves as a Heading for each section of this chapter So if you're taking notes tonight And I always encourage you to take notes on the back of your course the week There's a place for you to write down some things And I want you to notice that the first section that we can divide this chapter into is verses one through three and If you're looking for a heading or if you'd like to outline it the first section heading can be titled kind of bation ye kind of Bation if you notice there in Amos chapter 4 and verse 1 Amos says hear this word ye kind of bation the word kind is a Older word maybe an archaic word, which is not really used in our modern vernacular today it is the plural form of Cow of saying the word cow well you and I would would look at a cow Singularly and say there's a cow and then we might say you know there's cows I don't know. There's cattle the word kind is just a plural way of speaking of cows and here We see Amos calling the people of the northern kingdom of Israel the people are being called by Amos as Though they are cattle. He is calling them kind He also calls them a cow notice there again verse 1 hear this word ye kind of bation That are in the mountains of Samaria Which oppress the poor which crush the needy which say to their masters bring and let us drink The Lord God has sworn by his holiness that lo the days shall come upon you that he will take you away with hooks and Fish hooks and he shall go out at the breeches notice this little phrase Every cow at that which is before her and he shall cast them into the palace Sayeth the Lord so I want you to notice that he begins this sermon by calling the people cows Saying you are kind. He says you are like a cow now as you would imagine This is not a term of flattery This is not something that you call someone and they think you are giving them a compliment. He is Really insulting them, but I want you to understand that to them This would resonate a little bit because not only does he begin by calling the people he he calls the people kind and cows But he is calling the people cows who live in an area known for producing fat cattle and here's what I want you to understand that the people that Amos is speaking to Live in an area that is known for producing fat cattle. Look at Amos chapter 4 and verse 1 again He says hear this word ye kind of bation Ye kind of bation that word bation or that location bation might sound a little familiar to you Because it's in a very well-known passage of Scripture a very well-known prophetic passage of Scripture keep your place there in Amos that's our text for tonight and go with me if you would to the Book of Psalms Psalm 22 if you open your Bible just right in the center You're more than likely fall in the book of Psalms Psalm 22 In Psalm 22 we have a very famous prophecy of the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ and I'm not preaching about that or making any comments about that. I just want to point out that in that prophecy The Bible says in Psalm 22 in verse 12 This is a prophecy of the Lord Jesus Christ of his death. This is an illustration, but he says many bulls Which of course this is referring to cat cattle many bulls have compass me and then notice what the psalmist says he says strong bulls of bation have beset me round and Bation is a location that is known for producing kind cattle Bulls here. We're told that the strong bulls of bation have beset me around Let me give you another example go to Ezekiel 39 If you would there is Ezekiel 39 over there if you're there in Psalms You'll go past Proverbs Ecclesiastes Song of Solomon Isaiah Jeremiah Lamentations Ezekiel the last of those major prophets Ezekiel 39 in verse 18 Ezekiel 39 18 notice what the Bible says here the prophet says he shall eat the flesh of the mighty and drink the blood of the princes of the earth of rams of lambs and of goats of bullocks Which is again referring to bulls or cattle notice what he says all of them fatlings of bation So I want you to notice that this location bation is known for producing fat fatlings fat cows strong bulls healthy big fat bulls and we're talking about a bull and a cow and we're and we're talking about The kind of cow we want to see what kind of cow do you want to see once you a fat cow? You don't want a skinny cow like in the in the the dream that Pharaoh had you want to see the strong cattle and this area is known for producing fat cattle and Amos is being a little bit sarcastic. We'll see here that God is being sarcastic in this chapter a little bit and he's talking to people who are known for Raising cattle producing cattle. They're known for having fat cattle fatlings of bation Bulls strong bulls of bation so he refers to them as kind and as a and as cows and really he's referring to them as fat cows and You know, I only bring that up to say this if you're ever offended by my preaching at least I've never called you a fat cow At least not to your face and This is how Amos begins his sermon by referring to these people as fat cows go to Amos chapter 4 Now of course in The ancient world and even in our world today if you have fat cattle is you're probably rich You have to be pretty wealthy to to have cattle even in our world today and in the ancient world for sure This is how they measured wealth. So he's calling them this because of the fact that they're rich They're rich from this cattle that they have they're known for producing these these fatlings of bation these strong bulls of bation these bullocks and they are rich as a result and really what Amos is doing because if you remember the theme of the book of Amos is that it matters how we treat people and The theme of Amos is Amos is really preaching a lot of his preaching is geared towards rich prosperous people that are being cruel and oppressing the poor and They're becoming rich as a result of it and Amos is saying you're rich Because of this cattle that you have but he says really the jokes on you because when God looks at you He sees a fat cow He sees a heifer he sees kine he sees this cattle Notice there in verse 1 the people had grown fat like their cattle in their prosperity Why did they grow fat they gained their wealth and? Affluence by oppressing others look look at verse 1 again hear this word you kind of bation Ye are in the mountains of Samaria notice what he says which oppressed the poor Which crushed the needy these people had not gotten their wealth Through honest means they've not gotten their wealth by simply working hard obviously There's nothing wrong with being wealthy if you're honest and you have integrity and you work hard But these people had oppressed the poor they had crushed the needy they gained their wealth and Affluence by oppressing others, and they use their wealth and Affluence to pursue sinful pleasures Notice again verse 1 and so far. We've only looked at verse 1 I promise we're gonna get through the whole chapter But there's a lot just in this one verse hear this word you kind of bation that are in the mountains of Samaria Which oppressed the poor and crushed the needy notice what he says he says about these rich people He says which say to their masters bring and let us drink He said these people have gotten fat they've grown fat in their prosperity They've gained their wealth through the affluence by oppressing others They oppressed the poor they crushed the needy and they use their wealth and affluence to pursue sinful pleasures Which say to their masters bring and let us drink And look people try to act like the Bible's archaic or it's out of date But the Bible is just as relevant today as it is any other day Because in the United States of America today, you know what we have a bunch of fat cows a bunch of prosperous people and There are bars all over the city tonight where people are saying these words bring and let us drink Is that what people are saying at bars tonight? Is that what people are saying at casinos tonight aren't they saying bring a lot of strength are they saying bring us another drink? Bring us another drink and Amos says these rich Prosperous people are using the prosperity that God gave them to say bring and let us drink bring us another drink Let me tell you something, especially you young people. Listen up never be in a place where people are saying bring us another drink Unless you want God to look down at you and look at you as a fat cow a kind and a heifer The Old Testament prophets would often use these illustrations to illustrate and to represent a box-slit in Believer you're there in Amos if you go to the book of Hosea real quick Let me give you an example of that. If you go backwards, you've got the book of Joel and then the book of Hosea Notice what Hosea says to the children of Israel Hosea chapter 4 and verse 16 Hosea 4 16 for Israel I love the The picture that he paints here He says for Israel slightest back you ever heard of this phrase backslidden This is where we get the phrase from Israel slightest back as a backsliding heifer Say what the heifer it's a cow What's kind it's a cow The picture here is a big fat cow Trying to make its way up a hill and it's sliding back and that's what Hosea is saying about the people of God And that's what preachers today Say about the people of God today when you backslide when you are doing less for God today than you were doing yesterday When you are doing worse for God today than you were doing yesterday You are like a backslidden heifer a cow trying to make it so Weigh up a hill but it's so heavy with its own fat And it slides back Let me tell you something oftentimes prosperity is the worst thing that could happen to a Christian They get so fat with themselves They can no longer walk with God they're like a backslidden heifer Backsliding in their own weight and prosperity Go back to Amos chapter 4 Look at verse 2 Notice what the prophet says He says I he says and here's what he's saying and we're gonna get to it It's gonna become clear here as we continue in this chapter God is reminding them that he is the one that gave them the land that allows them to have the cattle He is the one that gave them the cattle He's the one that gave them the health He's the one that gave them prosperity and they have now taken this prosperity upon themselves and like their cattle is fat They have become fat in their own prosperity They are like a backslidden heifer and God says okay, you want to act like a cow you want to be like a cow? That's fine. Then he says the people are going to be let away like cattle notice verse 2 The Lord God has sworn by his holiness That lo the days shall come upon you that he will take you away with hooks and your Posterity, this is the descendants of the persons. He says with fish hooks and history books tell us that the Assyrian Nation was known for this that they would take captives and they would lead them captive these prisoners of war and they would use these hooks that they would put into their cheeks and into their noses and use them to lead them away and this is a a Prophecy that Amos is telling them the Assyrian army will come and will take you away with hooks They're going to take you away with fish hooks. Look at verse 3 and you shall go out at the breeches if you remember in the ancient world the ancient world unlike our world because we Now have a lot of technology. There's these things don't matter anymore. But in the ancient world, they did not have helicopters They did not have airplanes. They did not have missiles like we have today and in the ancient world when a City was strong and prosperous the way you knew that was by the massiveness of their walls they would build walls around the city and the bigger the wall the stronger the wall the thicker the wall the more prosperous the more strong that city was if you remember the city of Jericho was a very Prosperous city and God brought down those walls for the children of Israel here They have these walls that they've used as security, but God says that you shall go out at the breeches He says by the time the Assyrian Military is done. There are going to be so many holes so many gaping holes in these walls That you trust in he said you're going to actually be led they're not even going to take you to a gate They're just going to lead you out the holes and the breeches like cattle Every cow at that which is before her and he shall cast them into the palace saith the Lord So I hope you notice or understand why this first section verses 1 2 & 3 can be Can be titled ye kind of bation Because God is telling these people Amos is calling them kind and cows because the kind and the cows that they own are what they are putting their Trust in and their faith in and what they are allowing to Move them away and draw them away from God And God says if you're going to allow this cattle to draw you away from me Then that's fine, and you will be let out like cattle by the Assyrian government by the Assyrian nation look at Amos chapter 4 in verses 4 & 5 we find the second section of this chapter and the second section can be Titled this come to Bethel and transgress at Gilgal multiply transgressions We already saw the prophet Amos being pretty Sarcastic by calling the people kind and cows and here we see him again being Sarcastic saying he's saying if you remember if you look at the last Words of verse number three there Amos chapter four in verse three It says saith the Lord that phrase is repeated over and over through this chapter You'll notice in the book of Amos that he uses repetition a lot repetition to reinforce what he's saying These are the words of God This is God speaking through the prophet Amos and here's what God says in verse four come to Bethel and transgress at Gilgal multiply Transgressions God is inviting them to sin you say why is God doing that? You're gonna see here in a minute why he points out these two cities But I want you to notice that God is being sarcastic here Go to Revelation just real quickly keep your place in Amos and go to Revelation Oftentimes God uses sarcasm If you read the Bible you'll notice that There's a place in the Bible where he tells people that want to say that they are gods. He says okay I'll call you a god, but you're gonna die like a man And people sometimes they get confused. Well. God is calling them a god here. He's like he tells them Yeah, I'll call you a god locates G right before you die like a man. God's obviously being sarcastic here Here's another example Revelation 22 Notice verse 11. He says he that isn't just let him be unjust still and He was just filthy let him be filthy still and he that is righteous Let him be righteous still and he that is holy let him be holy still you see these types of statements that God made because you Would say he doesn't just let me unjust still and he was just filthy let him be filthy still you say why would God Say that you know why God says that because God's not a Calvinist That's not gonna make you get cleaned up If you want to live an unjustly life, and you want to live and filth God says be filth Be filth still and here in Amos he tells the children of Israel he says come to Bethel and transgress at Gilgal multiply Transgressions he points out these two cities Bethel and Gilgal Now these were cities that had a pretty good history the past There was a past of these histories of these cities that had a good history for both Bethel and Gilgal Let's just look at them real quickly go to Genesis 29 28 Genesis 28 Let's look at the city Bethel Bethel is where we'll look at it here in a minute Genesis 28 Jacob made a covenant with God and He called it the house of God Bethel is actually known as the house of God if you remember it's where Jacob went and slept in a cave and he had a dream and he saw a ladder and The ladder led to heaven and angels were ascending and descending on that ladder And he said this must be the house of God Genesis 28 19 the Bible says and he Jacob called the name of the place Bethel But the name of the city was called laws at the first and Jacob vowed of owls saying if God will be with me And will keep me in this way that I go and will give me bread to eat and raiment to put on I want you to to understand why it is that Amos was bringing up the city. He says come to Bethel and Transgress why does he say that it's not just a random word. It's not just a random thing He's bringing up. He brings it up for a reason why because every person in the nation of Israel Bethel is a city on the northern part of the nation of Israel not in the southern kingdom of Judah It's one of the cities that is the most southern city in the northern kingdom if that makes sense And Bethel is known for this what we're reading right now Genesis 28 20 When Jacob you say who's Jacob? Remember he gets renamed Israel he ends up having 12 sons the 12 sons of Israel who end up becoming the 12 tribes of Israel and The 12 tribes of Israel the northern kingdom of Israel becomes the 10 tribes of Israel the vast majority of Israel Amos says to those northern tribes come to Bethel and transgress when he says Bethel they would think of Genesis 28 20 the story and Jacob vowed a vow saying if God will be with me and keep me in this way that I go I will and will notice what Jacob says and will give me bread to eat and Raiment to put on so that I come again to my father's house in peace then shall the Lord Be my God the the the covenant that Jacob made with God was this God if you take care of me If you give me bread to eat and you give me Raiment He said I I will serve you then shall the Lord be my God Notice verse 22 and this stone which I have set for a pillar shall be God's house That's what Bethel's known for the house of God and of all that thou shall give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee This is Jacob making a promise to God to tithe by the way. This is before Moses for you scholars out there Like say well the law tithing wasn't till the law okay. Well you obviously never read Genesis 28 I Will surely give thee the ten hour here. I want you to stand you say well Well, it's Jacob saying that he'll serve God if God prospers him. Here's what Jacob says I will tithe 10% of everything you prosper me If you give me bread to eat and Raiment to put on then shall thou the Lord be my God And I will surely give thee the tenth give the tenth unto thee Later on God actually comes to Jacob when Jacob is now a rich man about 20 years after this and God comes to Jacob and says I am the God of Bethel And God is saying remember what you said If I take care of you and prosper you tithe 10% was time to pay up, buddy I'm the God of Bethel Jacob Israel made a covenant with God that said God when you prosper me all acknowledge you I'll make sure that everyone knows that I understand that this prosperity This well this bread this raiment comes from you, and I will surely give the tenth unto thee Now we have Amos go back to Amos chapter 4 speaking to a very prosperous descendancy of Jacob Speaking to the descendants of Israel and here's what he says come to Bethel and transgress at Gilgal Multiply transgressions and bring your sacrifice every morning. Don't miss it and your tithes and Your tithes after three years So why does he bring up Bethel? He's reminding them He's reminding them hey remember that the deal was this if I blessed you you would acknowledge me, but I blessed you and You've forgotten about me That you're supposed to come back to Bethel and tithe Jacob You're supposed to come back and acknowledge the prosperity that I have given you he says well Why don't you come to Bethel and transgress? Then he brings up Gilgal Go to Joshua real quickly Joshua chapter 5 if you're there in Genesis you have Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy Joshua If you're familiar with the book of Joshua Joshua The name Gilgal should pop out to you because Gilgal basically served as the headquarters for Joshua and for the nation of Israel as they entered into the promised land during that military campaign that Joshua led them to conquer the land Not Jerusalem and not any other place it was Gilgal where they headquartered Gilgal is what they called home Gilgal is where they always came back to Next time you read through the book of Joshua you got to make a note of Gilgal and the emphasis on Gilgal Joshua 5 in verse 7 notice what the Bible says and Their children whom he raised up in their stead Then Joshua current circumcised For they were uncircumcised because they had not circumcised them by the way. What is this a reference to? If you remember Joshua has brought the children of Israel They've crossed the Jordan River and he brought the children of Israel into the promised land But when they get there Joshua decides that they need to circumcise the people of Israel Why because they have not circumcised them by the way What does that mean during the wilderness wanderings for the last 40 years as they were wandering the wilderness they were not Practicing circumcision so when they come into the promised land Joshua decides the Bible says them Joshua Circumcised for they were circumcised because they had not Circumcised them by the way look at verse 8 And it came to pass when they had done Circumcising all the people that they abode in their places in the camp till they were whole and the Lord said unto Joshua This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you wherefore the name of the place is called Gilgal unto this day Gilgal becomes their headquarters and Gilgal is where they pitched where they had their tent and Gilgal is where they circumcised the people not only did they circumcise after 40 years of not circumcising They it's also where they held the Passover after all the years of not keeping the Passover look at Joshua 5 and verse 10 and the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal and capped the Passover so Gilgal if you would bring that up to Somebody from the nation of Israel they would recognize that as yes That was pretty much the headquarters where Joshua left his camp That's where the children of Israel were circumcised after 40 years in the wilderness And that's where they first kept the Passover in the nation of Israel What is the Passover known for it is a sacrifice with no leaven? What does Amos say to them look go back to Amos chapter 4 verse 5 in? verse 4 he says come to Bethel and transgress at Gilgal multiply transgressions verse 5 and offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven so why is he saying this and Proclaim and publish the free offerings for this like if you owe ye children of Israel sayeth the Lord God Why is God telling them to come to Gilgal? Why is he telling them to come to Bethel and transgress to Gilgal and multiply transgressions? Why is he saying don't forget to tithe when you come here? Why is he making these these points and why does it seem like God is being sarcastic and here's the point that God is trying to make You and I do not get to decide how we worship God You and I need to make sure when we worship God we worship God the way that God designed because Here the truth is this when it comes to Bethel and Gilgal in the past they had good history But currently they had a bad history they had a bad state that they were in when Amos was preaching this Let me just show that to you go to 1st Kings chapter 12 if you kept your place in Joshua I'm not sure if you did if you kept your place in Joshua from Joshua You have Judges, Ruth, 1st 2nd Samuel, 1st Kings, 1st Kings chapter 12 if you can find the one and two books They're all clustered together 1st 2nd Samuel, 1st 2nd Kings, 1st 2nd Chronicles, 1st Kings chapter 12 Now remember Amos is preaching Amos if you remember Amos is a prophet from the southern kingdom of Israel That is preaching to the northern kingdom of Israel After King Solomon Rehoboam his son had a split where Rehoboam ended up being the the king of the southern kingdom of Israel and Jeroboam became the king of the northern kingdom of Israel There was a split in the kingdom And that's why when you read 1st and 2nd Kings, 1st and Chronicles you have Oftentimes storylines that go back and forth between these two different lines of Kings because some are from the southern kingdom of Israel Some are from the northern kingdom of Israel here in 1st Kings 1228 We see a story of Jeroboam, Jeroboam who split the kingdom with Rehoboam 1st Kings 1228 notice what the Bible says whereupon the king referring to Jeroboam took counsel and made two don't miss it is look the Bible is so consistent. He made two what calves What's a calf? he made two calves of gold and By the way, remember Aaron made a calf of gold These things are all consistent. He made two calves of gold and said unto them it is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem Behold thy gods what is Jeroboam doing here? He doesn't want the people of his new kingdom the northern kingdom of Israel Because where was the temple where they worshiped God it was in Jerusalem in the southern kingdom He did not want his people To go down into the sun in the kingdom for the Passover to worship at the temple Because they might turn on him. He thinks they might not come home. They might not turn on him So what does he do? He makes these two golden calves He puts one at the southern tip of the northern kingdom another at the northern tip of the northern kingdom and he tells the people it is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem behold thy gods O Israel which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt and he set the one in Bethel and the other put he in Dan and This thing became a sin for the people want to worship before the one even unto Dan So he says these golden calves And he says don't go down to the temple to worship. God just worship right here worship these these golden cows You understand why Amos is calling them cattle and kind? Not only do they have fat cattle. They've got a big old idol of a cattle and God is telling them Come to Bethel and transgress At Gilgal multiply transgressions. Here's the point look at verse 5 last part of verse 5 and Proclaim and publish the free offerings for this like it's you you see that phrase this like it's you Oh, he's children of Israel saith the Lord God Here's what he's saying This is what you like This is what you want You know the Bible says the Bible says that God is a spirit and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth You and I do not get to decide how we want to worship God but these people God looks down He says I see your worship. I see you in Bethel worshiping I see you and get go worshiping Bethel and Gilgal were cities that were pretty close to each other if you remember Elijah Excuse me, Elijah right before he got taken up in a whirlwind when Elijah was following him He had that little tour of Israel He went from Gilgal to Bethel the right by each other and what God is saying I see your worship. The problem with your worship is that this like it's you He says you like it. I don't like it It makes you feel good. It doesn't make me feel good And you know, I believe that God looks down at churches today and he looks down at their little rock concerts And he says yeah this like it's you Your little 15-minute sermon with a corrupted Bible and your rock concert and you call it church this like it's you You like it. I don't like it He says come to Bethel and transgress come to Gilgal and multiply transgress You know what he's saying today? He's saying go to Joel Osteen and transgress Go to these to Rick Warren and multiply transgression this like it's you this is worship you like this is worship you want He says I don't like it I'm not impressed with it So we see the second section It can be Titled come to Bethel and transgress at Gilgal multiply transgressions Then I want you to notice the third section The third sections covers verses 6 through 11 If you're looking for a heading for the third section, you could call it this Yet, have he not returned unto me If you remember Amos uses repetition a lot Throughout the book of Amos we've seen him in different chapters use repetition over and over again This is a phrase that comes up several times in these few verses look at the last part of verse 6 He says yet. Ye have not returned unto me saith the Lord Look at verse 8 yet. Ye have not returned unto me saith the Lord look at verse 9 Last part of verse 9 yet. Ye have not returned unto me saith the Lord look the last part of verse 10 Yet ye have not returned unto me saith the Lord look at the last part of verse 11 yet Ye have not returned unto me saith the Lord These Statements these five statements in verses 6 through 11 yet. Ye have not returned unto me saith the Lord Actually served as an outline of this section Amos chapter 4 verses 6 through 11 Every time that he says yet ye have not returned unto me it is the ending of a point Amos is outlining this little sermon here and I want you to notice what he is highlighting the first thing in this third section is Famine notice what he says in verse 6 and I also have given you Cleanness of teeth does that sound good cleanness of teeth is that what we all want cleanness of teeth like Joel Osteen, right? But I want you to notice that this is a negative thing and I also have given you cleanness of teeth. It's a bad thing because how do you get your teeth dirty? by eating Why do you have to floss at night to get the food out of your teeth in between your teeth? Here Amos is saying put the floss away. You don't need to floss I'm gonna bring you famines God says and I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities and Want of bread notice the famine he says you're you're gonna be in need of bread You're not gonna have the food in all your places yet. Ye have not returned unto me saith the Lord He says I'm going to cut the food. I'm going to bring famine. You're going to have cleanness of teeth There'll be nothing between your teeth for you to floss out You'll have want of bread and then God says well after I do this I will still be saying yet you have not returned unto me Then he says in verses seven and eight. He talks about a drought notice what he says Verse seven and also I have withholding the rain from you When there were yet three months to the harvest and I caused it to rain upon one city and caused it not to rain Upon another city so one piece was rained upon and the peace whereupon it rained not withered So two or three cities wandered unto one city to drink water, but they were not satisfied Yet you have not returned unto me He says I'm going to bring famine, but you will not return to me I'm going to bring you droughts, but you will not return to me then in verse 9 He says I'm gonna bring crop failure Look at verse 9 I've smitten you with the blasting and mildew When your gardens and your vineyards and your fig trees and your olive trees increase the palm of worm devoured them Yet have you not returned unto me saith the Lord Look at verse 10. He says I'm going to bring disease and death I have sent among you the pestilence after the manner of Egypt your young men have I slain with the sword and I've Taken you away your horses and I've made the stink of your camp to come up unto your nostrils Yet you have not returned unto me saith the Lord notice in verse 11 He says I'm going to bring fire and judgment I have overthrown some of you as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and yet were as firebrands The word firebrand means a piece of burning wood. He said ye were as firebrands You were like a piece of burning wood plucked out of the burning yet. You have not returned unto me You said what is he talking about? God is reminding them that he is the source of their wealth God is reminding them. I mean if the perfect illustration is in verse 7 and I also have with will with Holden the rain from you and When they were yet three months to the harvest and I caused it to rain upon one city and caused it not to rain upon another city One piece was rained upon and the peace war upon it rained not withered God is saying do you understand that I'm the one who decides where the rain falls You understand that I decide I decide God says it's gonna rain in this city It's not gonna rain in this city. This city is gonna be withered This city is gonna have a famine people from this city are gonna run into this city and God says I'm the one that gave you the rain. I'm the one that gave you the bread I'm the one that gave you the crops I'm the one that gave you the safety and security and then God says I'm gonna take it away But here's the problem when I take it away. You are so filled with pride. He says yeah, you shall not return unto me You say how can this be? You know just be a pastor for 12 years you'll see how this can be You know what my wife and I have seen over the last 12 years of ministry I Mean you you want to know? Something you learn in over a decade of ministry You know what? We've seen at Verity Baptist Church over the last 12 years. We've seen people come into this church a mess. I mean Unemployed No employment not going anywhere in life. Their marriage is falling apart. Their children are falling apart issues problems just out of control and then they come here and then they hear the Word of God and We preach sermons about working hard and being disciplined getting out of debt and living a righteous life And they get around other people that are serving God and following God and you know what they do they start a business You know what they do they get a promotion you know what they do they get a raise you know what they do they get some Nice furniture, and they get a nice house, and they move into a nice little neighborhood, and they start getting puffed up and They start thinking like well look how well I'm doing and they forget that is God that decides where the rain is gonna fall You know that's God who decides if you say well, I've got a successful business. That's cuz God decided it I Have a great career, that's because God is blessing you I've got all these plans. That's because God has chosen to bless you and God can take it away You know what we've seen over the years we see those same people get backslidden We see those same people leave We see those same people they're not right with God. They leave this church, and you know what happens their businesses fall apart Their marriage is fall apart They get fired They lose their homes Their lives become a mess and and everybody's like oh, man. He's not too bad, and I'm thinking myself. Don't you think it's God? Don't you think it's possible that God has taken his blessing from you, but yet have you not? returned unto me That's what God says I Just want to remind you Before you get all puffed up in your prosperity that God can take it away like this God can take your health in a moment God can take your job in a moment if You're experiencing rain wherever you're having crops you better. Thank God for it. You better not get proud about it You better not think well look how great I am look how smart I am look I decided to plant the vineyard right here, and this is over there's where the drought is I chose the right place No, God made it rain in the right place God can take it away I've seen ministries fall apart People start showing up, and they start getting little nice offerings, and they start thinking well look over what I'm doing You're not doing anything I'm not doing anything Anything we do is by the grace of God And here God is saying I will take it all away all these things that have distracted you from me I will take it all away yet. You have not returned unto me Sayeth the Lord Go back to Amos chapter 4 and look at verse 12 Verses 12 and 13 we find the final section in this chapter The fourth section The heading could be titled and I think this is the best little phrase When we talked about little phrases that pop out at you in the Word of God, this is one of these phrases In Amos chapter 4 and verse 12 Amos says therefore thus will I do unto thee O Israel and Because I will do this unto thee I want you to notice this little phrase you ought to underline it in your Bible You ought to highlight it in your Bible. He says Prepare to meet thy God Those are some scary words He says I gave you the rain I gave you the cattle I gave you the riches I gave you the wealth I'm gonna take it all away Therefore thus will I do unto thee O Israel and because I will do this unto thee Prepare to meet thy God O Israel This little section could just be titled verses 12 and 13 Prepare to meet thy God Go to Hebrews just real quickly if you would Hebrews chapter 9 towards the end of the New Testament. We're almost done You start at Revelation and go backwards. You have Jude third second and first John second and first Peter James then Hebrews Hebrews chapter 9 Amos says prepare to meet thy God O Israel You know that there is a set day of judgment for all people Everybody saved or unsaved Every person who's ever lived has an appointment to meet their God Whether they acknowledge him as God or not Whether they believe in him or not Amos, excuse me Hebrews 9 and verse 27 the Bible says and as it is appointed unto men once to die But after this the judgment You say which judgment it doesn't matter anybody who dies is going to a judgment Now The Bible teaches and I'm not going to take the time to have you run through all the verses you can study this out on Your own the Bible teaches that there are two judgments that that will be held for all mankind One judgment is for unbelievers It is called the great white throne judgment and it is where they will be judged for their works before they get cast into Hell no one will be good enough to go to heaven based on their works. They will all be found wanting You say well praise the Lord you and I aren't going to that judgment. Well, there's a judgment for you and I as well It's called the judgment seat of Christ In that judgment, you know what God well You know what we're gonna get judged for not for salvation It's not about going to heaven or going to hell anybody at the judgment seat of Christ already gonna go to heaven At that judgment you and I will be judged for what we did with what God gave us When God made it rain in your field When God kept the disease from your farm Not a lot of the cattle to be fat in your land God says I gave you that was resources and He's going to judge you and I for what was done in our bodies and As it is appointed unto men wants to die, but after this the judgment Let me just share a couple verses with you. Look at Hebrews 4 and verse 13. You're there in Hebrews 9 look at Hebrews 4 13 There's a day of judgment coming for all and Isn't that a crazy thought think about this every human being saved or unsaved Christian or non-christian Muslim Hindu it doesn't matter any human being that's ever lived on his earth has an appointment There's a calendar in heaven and it has an appointment with a day where every single human being Will meet with God You will meet with God I Will meet with God And it'll be a personal judgment. It will not be done collectively. I'm sorry. I will not be there as your pastor And you will not be there as my church people Your wife will not be there. Your husband will not be there. Your parents will not be there Your children will not be there. It will be you and God Hebrews 4 13 neither. Is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight but all things are naked and Open unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do God is watching you God knows everything about you There neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight There's nobody that he does not see Maybe your wife didn't see it Maybe your parents didn't see it But God saw it But all things are naked and open unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do You say well, what do we do? What do we do with this idea that there is a set day of judgment for all people to meet God either go to The great white throne or the judgment seat of Christ. What do we do with that? well Go to Hebrews chapter 10. I Would advise that you take the advice of Amos the prophet Prepare to meet thy God Hebrews 10 and verse 31 notice what the Bible says Hebrews 10 31. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God You know that every single human being every single human being should spend their lives preparing to meet the God that gave them life So faster, what do you think I should do with my life? I think you should do with your life what every other Christian every other person in this world should do with their life Every human being I believe I agree with Amos should spend their lives preparing to meet their God Amos chapter 4 look at verse 13. We'll finish off Amos chapter 4 13 you said how do unbelievers prefer to meet their God they get saved How do believers prefer to meet their God they get right with God They use the resources that God has given them the health and the wealth the pressures and the talents the time and the ability The resources they use them for the glory of God why because every single one of us ought to spend every day of our lives preparing to meet our God Amos 4 12 therefore thus will I do unto thee O Israel And because I will do this unto thee prepare to meet thy God O Israel Look at verse 13 for lo He that formeth the mountains consider this Consider this About the day that you meet God Not when your friend or your buddy or your neighbor when you meet God Because you have a day set to meet with God and as it is appointed unto men wants to die But after this the judgment For lo he that formeth the mountains and created the wind Who am I gonna meet you're gonna meet the one who formed the mountains You're gonna meet the one that created the winds for he that formeth the mountains and created the winds and Declareth unto man what is his thoughts? Think about that You know, you're not gonna have to speak at this judgment God is gonna declare to you what your thoughts aren't He knows everything about you That make it the morning darkness and treadeth upon the high place of the earth the Lord the God of hosts Is his name? So, how should I spend tomorrow preparing to meet thy God What about the next day preparing to meet thy God What about when I decide what job I'm going to take if I'm gonna take a job that's gonna pull me away from church Maybe you ought to consider that you ought to prepare to meet thy God And that it is the God that gives you the ability to work When you wake up tomorrow and you ask yourself should I read the Bible today on nine chapters of thing things over But maybe should I read the Bible or should I just go on Facebook? You got to have this thought I need to prepare to meet my God Prepare to meet thy God It's what every person should spend their lives doing We should all spend our lives preparing to meet the God that gave us life Spot heads and have water prayer come my father Little be thank you for this chapter They say it's archaic Sounds pretty up-to-date to me I There are Christians and bars right now saying bring and let us drink They should be preparing to meet their God Lord I pray that you'd help us. I Pray that you'd help us to realize that we've been given a great opportunity We've been given the oracles of God We've been given freedom in this country to preach the gospel to go door to door Help us to prepare to meet our God I Pray that you would help us to live with judgment in mind Not in a negative way, but in a positive way to serve God to love God To live for God with all our might the matchless name of Christ we pray Amen All right, we're gonna have brother RJ come up and lead us in a final song Just want to give you a couple of reminders first of all, don't forget that this Friday at 6 30 p.m Is the married couple sweetheart banquet? So if you've signed up for it, we want you to be here Of course, don't want you to not forget about that We'll have a nice dinner for you at 6 30 in the fellowship hall And then we'll have a short challenge from the Word of God and then we'll play the not so newlywed game It's always a fun time and I think you'll have a great time And then we also want you to not forget that this Sunday is I love my church Sunday on Saturday if you could be here for our 10 a.m. Soul winning rally. We're gonna be handing these out for our soul winning time and We want you to be thinking about obviously for soul when you want to invite people to I love my church Sunday But we want you to be thinking about anybody that you could invite a friend a co-worker a neighbor a family member Make sure that you're here for I love my church Sunday try to bring someone with you to I love my church Sunday It's much easier to invite a guest to an event like this and we're gonna have the pink vanilla and caramel Valentine's Day popcorn That will be given out the choir and the orchestra have special music and then Sunday night We'll have a potluck and we'll have a good time to fellowship with that Just want to encourage you to keep all those things in mind be in prayer for those things If there's anything we can do for you, please let us know why brother RJ come up and lead us in a final song Man, let's grab our song books and turn to page number 304. Sorry. I'm changing that up song number 304 I'm gonna close the service with nothing between my soul and the Savior Not of this world the lucid dream. I have renounced all sins and pleasure nothing between let's sing it out It's all number 304. So you get with some passion. All right Nothing between my soul and my Savior not of this world Sajid I have renounce all sinful pleasure Jesus is mine. There's nothing between Nothing between my soul and my Savior so that his blessed face may be seen nothing preventing Obvious favor keep the way clear and nothing between nothing between like worldly pleasure habits of life though harmless they seem Muslim my heart from him ever severed. He is my own. There's nothing between Nothing between my soul and the Savior so that his blessed face may be seen nothing preventing the least of his favor Let nothing between on the third nothing between like pride or like stations tell for friends shall not Intervene and though it may cost me much Tribulation I am resolved. There's nothing between Nothing between my soul and the Savior so that his blessed face may be seen Nothing preventing the least of his favor Keep the way clear. Let nothing between sing it out on the last Nothing between many hard trials though the whole world against me can be watching with prayer and much shall denial I'll try my last with nothing between Nothing between my soul and my Savior so that his blessed face may be seen Nothing preventing the least of his favor Keep the way clear and nothing between Amen great seeing brother Josh. Just tell him would you dismisses with a word of prayer senior? You You