God Holds His People Accountable to Lead the World
Amos 3:1-2
God’s people had wanted to live like other nations did. They failed to realize that he held them to a higher standard than other nations. God intended to guide them Himself, making them a nation of leaders who could become a model for the world. It’s an example of the Law of the Picture: people do what people see. God wanted Israel to be a light to the nations. They were to exemplify the life all people were to live. God’s heavy Judgement fell because He held His people accountable to lead the world to Himself.
A Prophet of Wrath and Mercy (Amos 4: 1-12)
Sometimes it’s easy to forget that the God who showers grace upon His people is the same God who warns of impending Judgement and who exercises His wrath.
Amos teaches us that leaders must present God as He presents Himself: as the God of love and Mercy and the God of Holiness and wrath. As the apostle Paul says in Roman’s 11:22, “Therfore consider the goodness and severity of God.”
Can you imagine calling the women of your church or organization, “cows of Bashan”? Yet that is the very name Amos uses to address the Women of Israel (Amos4:1). The prophet speaks harsh words to His people, warning them finally to ” prepare to meet your God, O Israel “(4:12). This was no promise of a pleasant encounter, but a pronouncement of wrath on those who refused to return to and bow to the God who had faithfully guided, protected, and provided for them.
But Amos also speaks words of hope. Through the prophet, God tells the people that they can still humble themselves and return to Him and receive mercy (9:8—15).
This is the picture of God that today’s leaders must present. God’s people must see that He is a God of grace and Mercy and a God of Wrath and Judgment.Any presentation that falls short of that standard is at best incomplete.
Amos Judges Leaders for abusing Their Positions (Amos 5:7-17).
Amos is sometimes called the angry prophet. Most of his words Express heated emotion. He condemns leaders who fail to provide justice for their people. Amos5:7-17 contains his Lamentation and call for repentance to those who turn justice into bitterness.
When leaders act unjustly, their influence creates a ripple effect. God hates injustice, but especially among leaders whose crooked influence infects an entire nation! Note the leadership abuses in Amos’s day:
- They abandoned morality.
- They confused values.
- They taxed the poor for selfish gain.
- They were corrupt and oppressed citizens.
- They took bribes.
- They deprived people of justice in court(v.7—-12).
The scary part of this story is that these leaders could not see their own corruption. Amos 5:18 warns against longing for the day of the Lord, for it will be a dreadful day of Judgment, not a joyful celebration.
Leaders influence in the Prayer Closet.(7:1—6).
Amos must have felt overwhelmed: God had threatened to annihilate Israel! The prophet already had warned the people of Judgement; now it had arrived. What could he do?
The only thing he could do was to plead God to forgive. Amos prayed for His people with compassion and honesty. Tiny Israel, he said, would not survive the Judgement. Twice he interceded and twice God withdrew His Judgement. Amos stepped in between the people and God, and negotiated their survival.
Prayer changes things. Amos shows us what to do with impossible problems.Of course, prayer doesn’t take the place of solid leadership; Amos continued to perform his job of truth telling(Amos7:10–17). Yet he reminds leaders how powerful their prayers can be in the face of trouble Sometimes we have no idea what kind of changes we orchestrate or what kind of pain we spare others by what we do in our prayer closet!
Let us continue to stand in the gap between God and Man, God and the Nation like Amos the Prophet. God who hears our prayers , answers us in the way
But as it is written:
“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man, The things which God has prepared for those who love Him”.
But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. We have recieved the Spirit of God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.(1 cor.2:9—12).
GOD BLESS
YOUR’S IN CHRIST,
MERCY JOY, BANGALORE ✝️🛐
Amos 5:14
“Seek good and not evil, that you may live“
☘️ The Lord had heard the 😢 cry of His people, Israel, who were in slavery in the land of Egypt. The Lord in His great love had freed His chosen people, the Israelites from slavery by doing great signs and wonders in their midst. The Lord himself became their 💡 light and lead His people into the Promised Land – Canaan. The Lord blessed His people in abundance, in prosperity in the Promised Land.
🍁 Though God showed His great love and mercy to His people, the Israelites rebelled against God and did evil in the sight of God. So God brought judgement upon the Israelites, who refused to listen to the prophets sent by God and to their warnings and were destroyed and lead into exile by Him.
☘️ The Lord chose to bless His people when they repented for their sins and turned to Him with all their ♥️ heart.
Brethren, Galatians 6:9 says, ” Let us not grow tired of doing good, for in due time we shall reap our harvest, if we do not give up.” If we do good in this world, we shall yield a good harvest ( receive eternal life and live with God forever ). If we do what is bad or evil, we shall reap a bad harvest ( eternal death). The choice is ours.
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6975 – Patsy Fernandes
Amos 7
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God relented at the prayer of Amos.
God called Amos ,as he faithfully performed his present calling. Amos was an honorable sheep breeder and a tender of sycamore fruit. With so many illustrations, from the world of agriculture, Amos spoke as a farmer and God used it.
Amos was bold enough to speak for the Lord,and to tell Amaziah and everyone else that Israel’s impending captivity is indeed true.
This was a difficult word in most difficult circumstances ,but Amos was faithful to deliver it.
🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺Maby Sundar India group no.7070