Amos Mercy Has Its Limits
Series: JUSTICE
Speaker: Sam Low
Date: 25th June 2017
Passage: Amos 7:1-17
00:00:00 --> 00:00:05 I had holidays a little over a month ago, and I had a whole three weeks off, which was fantastic.
00:00:05 --> 00:00:08 It was a good chance to spend time with people who I don't normally see.
00:00:09 --> 00:00:18 And one of the particular highlights for me was the chance to have a conversation with someone who I really care about, about following Jesus.
00:00:19 --> 00:00:27 They're somebody who would call themselves a Christian, somebody who has been around church, knows the answers, they know how it works.
00:00:27 --> 00:00:33 But by their own admission, they would say they're a Christian, but not a Christian like me.
00:00:34 --> 00:00:37 In their mind, there's kind of the levels of Christian.
00:00:37 --> 00:00:46 So there's the fanatics, which I assume is the end she's placing me in, and then the normal Christians who are normal, but like Jesus.
00:00:48 --> 00:00:53 And the conversation was around why she makes that distinction a little bit.
00:00:53 --> 00:01:00 For her, there are some things that she's just uncomfortable with, some things she doesn't understand, some doubts she's got.
00:01:00 --> 00:01:06 And those things for her get in the way of wanting to make that step to go, you know what, I'm all in.
00:01:06 --> 00:01:07 I'm all for God.
00:01:07 --> 00:01:08 I'm going to live for Him.
00:01:08 --> 00:01:09 It's all about Him.
00:01:10 --> 00:01:15 And the major sticking point for her was something that a lot of us actually struggle with.
00:01:15 --> 00:01:18 And it could even be a question that you're wrestling with right now.
00:01:18 --> 00:01:24 And that was the question of, how can a God who is loving send good people to hell?
00:01:25 --> 00:01:28 How can a God who is loving send good people to hell?
00:01:28 --> 00:01:38 So this person I'm chatting to just can't fathom that nice people who do good things for others and give to charity and just kind of are nice,
00:01:39 --> 00:01:41 could end up being sent to hell by God.
00:01:41 --> 00:01:50 And that could be a tension that you feel as well, as you think of family members, friends, people who are precious to you,
00:01:50 --> 00:01:54 who are really nice, but aren't Christian.
00:01:56 --> 00:02:02 And maybe you find it hard to imagine how God can be loving and send that person to hell.
00:02:03 --> 00:02:05 It's something that I've wrestled with.
00:02:05 --> 00:02:12 Now, this person I was chatting with, the answer for them was that God can't send those people to hell.
00:02:12 --> 00:02:17 Because they couldn't fathom a God who's loving and a God who would send people like that to hell,
00:02:17 --> 00:02:19 the solution was God won't do it.
00:02:21 --> 00:02:26 I asked them about Jesus and about the kinds of things that Jesus says,
00:02:26 --> 00:02:28 like, I'm the only way to the Father.
00:02:28 --> 00:02:29 I'm the only way to heaven.
00:02:29 --> 00:02:37 And that just left them feeling a little bit frustrated because it didn't kind of fit with their solution.
00:02:37 --> 00:02:38 They'd come up with a solution.
00:02:39 --> 00:02:39 They'd resolve the tension.
00:02:40 --> 00:02:44 It didn't fit with the stuff that I was kind of suggesting out of the Bible.
00:02:45 --> 00:02:50 Now, behind this question, behind the question of a loving God and people going to hell,
00:02:50 --> 00:02:54 is potentially something personal.
00:02:54 --> 00:03:03 It's not so much a question of how could a good God, a loving God, send good people out there to hell.
00:03:04 --> 00:03:08 It's actually a question that comes from our own fear and insecurity.
00:03:10 --> 00:03:16 The question is, how could a loving God send someone good like me to hell?
00:03:16 --> 00:03:23 It's that fear, especially for people who are following Jesus and want to go to heaven
00:03:23 --> 00:03:26 and just maybe don't feel 100% sure.
00:03:26 --> 00:03:28 They want an insurance policy.
00:03:29 --> 00:03:31 They want kind of a blank check from God that says,
00:03:31 --> 00:03:35 you know what, if you're above this line, let's just agree, all of you will get in.
00:03:36 --> 00:03:38 Just take the pressure off a little bit.
00:03:38 --> 00:03:40 We want to know for sure.
00:03:40 --> 00:03:42 We want God's approval.
00:03:42 --> 00:03:48 But there can be just this lingering doubt, especially when we open the Bible like we have in Amos these last couple of weeks
00:03:48 --> 00:03:51 and just get hammered with talk of God's judgment,
00:03:52 --> 00:03:56 with a reminder that God is a just God, that God doesn't tolerate sin.
00:03:58 --> 00:04:02 When we get faced with the judgment of God, it leaves us with a couple of options.
00:04:03 --> 00:04:07 It leaves us in a couple of camps, especially if you're somebody who wants to follow God,
00:04:07 --> 00:04:09 someone who's trying to follow God.
00:04:09 --> 00:04:14 There are, of course, those who are secure, even hearing about God's judgment.
00:04:14 --> 00:04:18 They're confident that they're loved by God and that that's appropriate confidence.
00:04:19 --> 00:04:24 There's people just slightly this direction who hear about it and really want to
00:04:24 --> 00:04:30 and might be 99% sure or maybe much lower, but there's just that lingering doubt.
00:04:31 --> 00:04:36 There's just that pressure and fear every time you stuff up that just escalates.
00:04:36 --> 00:04:38 And then when you're going well, it kind of gets reined in a little bit.
00:04:38 --> 00:04:42 And you know that feeling of trying to follow God, but sometimes feeling like,
00:04:43 --> 00:04:45 I hope he still loves me today.
00:04:46 --> 00:04:49 And then there is another group just a little bit further down the spectrum
00:04:49 --> 00:04:51 who are secure.
00:04:53 --> 00:04:54 They're confident.
00:04:54 --> 00:04:56 They're sure that God loves them.
00:04:56 --> 00:05:02 But maybe they're deluded in their confidence.
00:05:03 --> 00:05:04 Maybe it's a wrong confidence.
00:05:04 --> 00:05:07 There's a part of them that's trying to follow God
00:05:07 --> 00:05:12 and enough to the point where they think they've got it all figured out,
00:05:12 --> 00:05:14 but the reality is they don't.
00:05:16 --> 00:05:19 So far in Amos, through this series,
00:05:19 --> 00:05:23 we've been hearing warning after warning from God to his people Israel.
00:05:23 --> 00:05:26 Amos has been explaining judgment is coming.
00:05:28 --> 00:05:32 He's been telling the people that those who claim to be gods but aren't truly,
00:05:32 --> 00:05:36 those who speak the words but live a different way will face judgment.
00:05:36 --> 00:05:38 Amos is not the first prophet with this message.
00:05:38 --> 00:05:40 He won't be the last one.
00:05:41 --> 00:05:43 And yet so far,
00:05:44 --> 00:05:44 Israel
00:05:44 --> 00:05:48 don't seem to be taking him seriously at all.
00:05:48 --> 00:05:54 God has just promised in those few verses that Deb read out
00:05:54 --> 00:05:55 that their cities will be destroyed,
00:05:56 --> 00:05:58 that they'll be carted off as slaves to another country,
00:05:58 --> 00:06:00 and nothing seems to be registering.
00:06:02 --> 00:06:05 Israel falls into this third category
00:06:05 --> 00:06:08 of people who are sure that God loves them,
00:06:08 --> 00:06:13 but it doesn't seem to be reflective of what God is saying.
00:06:13 --> 00:06:17 I mean, at best, they're ignoring what he's saying,
00:06:17 --> 00:06:20 but at worst, they're trying to shut him up.
00:06:21 --> 00:06:23 They're trying to say, stop talking to us.
00:06:23 --> 00:06:26 I mean, in chapter 7 that Deb just read out,
00:06:26 --> 00:06:29 there's this face-off in the second half from verses 10 onwards.
00:06:29 --> 00:06:31 This is between Amos, who wrote Amos,
00:06:32 --> 00:06:34 and Amaziah, who's the priest for Israel.
00:06:34 --> 00:06:35 He's like the religious leader.
00:06:35 --> 00:06:37 So you'd expect out of anyone,
00:06:37 --> 00:06:39 he should be in tune with God and what's going on.
00:06:39 --> 00:06:44 But listen to the way he describes Amos' message.
00:06:44 --> 00:06:45 This is in verse 10.
00:06:45 --> 00:06:46 He's writing a letter to the king.
00:06:46 --> 00:06:47 He says,
00:06:47 --> 00:06:49 Amos is raising a conspiracy against you
00:06:49 --> 00:06:51 in the very heart of Israel.
00:06:51 --> 00:06:52 He says,
00:06:52 --> 00:06:55 The land cannot bear all his words,
00:06:56 --> 00:06:58 for this is what Amos is saying.
00:06:58 --> 00:07:01 When a prophet speaks in the Bible,
00:07:01 --> 00:07:04 they speak with the weight of God's own voice.
00:07:05 --> 00:07:07 They speak with the authority of the God
00:07:07 --> 00:07:09 who sent them this message,
00:07:09 --> 00:07:13 and yet Amaziah the priest hears this and says,
00:07:13 --> 00:07:15 It's just some wacko.
00:07:16 --> 00:07:17 It's just some guy.
00:07:17 --> 00:07:18 We don't have to take him seriously.
00:07:18 --> 00:07:20 Let's not listen to him.
00:07:20 --> 00:07:22 In fact, not just let's ignore him,
00:07:22 --> 00:07:24 let's try and get rid of him.
00:07:24 --> 00:07:26 I mean, this message he sends to the king,
00:07:27 --> 00:07:29 he's trying to have Amos killed for treason.
00:07:30 --> 00:07:33 He's accusing him of trying to subvert the king
00:07:33 --> 00:07:35 and then effectively says,
00:07:35 --> 00:07:36 Go home.
00:07:37 --> 00:07:38 Stop annoying us.
00:07:38 --> 00:07:39 We don't want to listen to you.
00:07:40 --> 00:07:41 Go back south.
00:07:41 --> 00:07:42 Go to the farm you came from.
00:07:42 --> 00:07:43 Stop prophesying.
00:07:43 --> 00:07:44 We don't want to listen.
00:07:45 --> 00:07:47 But the really scary part of this bit in Amaziah,
00:07:48 --> 00:07:49 sorry, this bit in Amos,
00:07:50 --> 00:07:52 is that Amaziah,
00:07:52 --> 00:07:53 at least it seems,
00:07:53 --> 00:07:54 and all of Israel,
00:07:54 --> 00:08:01 genuinely don't see what they're doing as a rejection of God.
00:08:02 --> 00:08:02 So remember,
00:08:02 --> 00:08:04 this third group that's confident,
00:08:04 --> 00:08:05 but wrongly confident,
00:08:05 --> 00:08:07 is actually trying to follow God.
00:08:08 --> 00:08:10 That's the starting point for that third group.
00:08:10 --> 00:08:11 That's the starting point for Israel.
00:08:12 --> 00:08:13 They're God's people.
00:08:13 --> 00:08:16 And even as they tell this prophet,
00:08:16 --> 00:08:16 go away,
00:08:16 --> 00:08:17 we're not interested,
00:08:18 --> 00:08:21 they genuinely believe they're in God's good books.
00:08:22 --> 00:08:25 They genuinely believe that he loves them
00:08:25 --> 00:08:26 and he's happy with them
00:08:26 --> 00:08:28 and they are securely there in his favor.
00:08:28 --> 00:08:32 That's why they're not listening.
00:08:33 --> 00:08:35 The idea that God would judge them
00:08:35 --> 00:08:38 is so inconceivable
00:08:38 --> 00:08:42 that they have no motivation to even listen,
00:08:43 --> 00:08:45 let alone respond to this warning
00:08:45 --> 00:08:48 and this call to repent and return to God.
00:08:49 --> 00:08:51 But for us and for them,
00:08:51 --> 00:08:53 it begs a really, really important question.
00:08:56 --> 00:08:57 Why are they so confident?
00:08:59 --> 00:09:01 What's the basis for this group
00:09:01 --> 00:09:04 being so sure that God is going to show them mercy?
00:09:07 --> 00:09:09 Because we can look at this passage and this story
00:09:09 --> 00:09:12 and even before we know in a few years
00:09:12 --> 00:09:14 God's going to come through on his promise,
00:09:14 --> 00:09:15 he's going to destroy them,
00:09:15 --> 00:09:16 he's going to crush this nation
00:09:16 --> 00:09:18 under the military power of Assyria.
00:09:18 --> 00:09:20 Even before you get there,
00:09:20 --> 00:09:22 it's pretty clear from what we've seen
00:09:22 --> 00:09:23 in the first few chapters of this book,
00:09:24 --> 00:09:26 Israel's lives do not reflect
00:09:26 --> 00:09:28 what God expects from those who love him.
00:09:28 --> 00:09:31 We've heard stories of the prostitutes in the temple,
00:09:31 --> 00:09:33 of the oppression of the poor.
00:09:35 --> 00:09:38 So what basis is there for them to be confident?
00:09:39 --> 00:09:41 What reason could they possibly have
00:09:41 --> 00:09:43 to believe that God is happy with them?
00:09:44 --> 00:09:45 Let me show you two.
00:09:48 --> 00:09:50 Firstly, Israel's confidence
00:09:50 --> 00:09:52 flows out of their worship.
00:09:53 --> 00:09:54 Flick to chapter 5
00:09:54 --> 00:09:55 if you've got your Bible open in front of you
00:09:55 --> 00:09:57 and we're looking around verse 5,
00:09:57 --> 00:09:58 4, 5, 6.
00:10:00 --> 00:10:01 We look at what they were doing
00:10:01 --> 00:10:03 in their version of church in the temple
00:10:03 --> 00:10:03 and go,
00:10:04 --> 00:10:05 it's got some serious issues,
00:10:05 --> 00:10:06 it's clearly flawed for us
00:10:06 --> 00:10:08 but for them,
00:10:08 --> 00:10:09 it was the basis
00:10:09 --> 00:10:11 of their confidence
00:10:11 --> 00:10:13 that God was going to love them.
00:10:13 --> 00:10:16 God, when he called his people
00:10:16 --> 00:10:18 and when he created the relationship
00:10:18 --> 00:10:19 between them,
00:10:19 --> 00:10:20 created the covenant,
00:10:20 --> 00:10:23 he placed himself in their midst
00:10:23 --> 00:10:24 in a building called the temple
00:10:24 --> 00:10:26 which he placed in Jerusalem.
00:10:27 --> 00:10:28 That was the one place
00:10:28 --> 00:10:29 where they would meet with him,
00:10:29 --> 00:10:30 where they would sacrifice to him,
00:10:30 --> 00:10:31 where he would speak to them,
00:10:31 --> 00:10:32 they would pray to him.
00:10:32 --> 00:10:34 It was a unique symbol
00:10:34 --> 00:10:36 of God's presence.
00:10:36 --> 00:10:38 But the problem with that is
00:10:38 --> 00:10:39 we're talking to Israel.
00:10:39 --> 00:10:42 So Israel is a group of 12 tribes
00:10:42 --> 00:10:43 that broke in half,
00:10:44 --> 00:10:46 two stayed down at Jerusalem
00:10:46 --> 00:10:47 and 10 stayed up the top,
00:10:47 --> 00:10:48 in fact moved north.
00:10:49 --> 00:10:50 That's Israel now.
00:10:50 --> 00:10:51 That's who we're talking to.
00:10:52 --> 00:10:54 So they've moved away from the temple
00:10:54 --> 00:10:55 where God said,
00:10:55 --> 00:10:56 I'll be there,
00:10:56 --> 00:10:56 come and meet with me.
00:10:57 --> 00:10:58 Now, you know,
00:10:58 --> 00:10:59 that sounds like a disaster.
00:10:59 --> 00:11:01 They have no intention of going
00:11:01 --> 00:11:02 and visiting the place
00:11:02 --> 00:11:03 that God said to worship.
00:11:03 --> 00:11:04 So they figure,
00:11:04 --> 00:11:05 we can solve that problem.
00:11:05 --> 00:11:06 And they come up
00:11:06 --> 00:11:08 with three new places to go.
00:11:08 --> 00:11:09 They're there in those verses,
00:11:09 --> 00:11:10 in chapter 5.
00:11:10 --> 00:11:14 Bethel, Gilgal, and Beersheba.
00:11:14 --> 00:11:15 You don't have to remember
00:11:15 --> 00:11:16 all these names.
00:11:16 --> 00:11:16 It's okay.
00:11:17 --> 00:11:18 But for a second,
00:11:18 --> 00:11:19 we do have to look at them.
00:11:21 --> 00:11:22 Because Israel didn't just choose,
00:11:22 --> 00:11:23 that's a nice hill,
00:11:23 --> 00:11:24 let's put a church there.
00:11:25 --> 00:11:27 These are really specifically
00:11:27 --> 00:11:29 and intentionally chosen places
00:11:29 --> 00:11:30 that they thought
00:11:30 --> 00:11:31 would help them do
00:11:31 --> 00:11:32 worshiping God.
00:11:33 --> 00:11:34 And let me show you why.
00:11:35 --> 00:11:37 Bethel is a place,
00:11:37 --> 00:11:38 earlier in the Bible,
00:11:38 --> 00:11:38 in Genesis,
00:11:38 --> 00:11:39 where Jacob,
00:11:40 --> 00:11:41 who was kind of the forefather
00:11:41 --> 00:11:42 of this nation Israel,
00:11:42 --> 00:11:44 encounters God twice.
00:11:45 --> 00:11:46 The first time he goes there,
00:11:46 --> 00:11:47 he has this vision
00:11:47 --> 00:11:48 and he wakes up
00:11:48 --> 00:11:48 and he says,
00:11:49 --> 00:11:49 clearly,
00:11:49 --> 00:11:50 this is a place
00:11:50 --> 00:11:51 where the Lord is.
00:11:52 --> 00:11:53 And then in his travels,
00:11:53 --> 00:11:54 he ends up back there
00:11:54 --> 00:11:55 another time
00:11:55 --> 00:11:56 and God shows up
00:11:56 --> 00:11:57 and engages him
00:11:57 --> 00:11:58 and changes his name
00:11:58 --> 00:11:59 from Jacob to Israel.
00:12:00 --> 00:12:00 It is a place
00:12:00 --> 00:12:01 that was symbolic
00:12:01 --> 00:12:03 for God's presence.
00:12:03 --> 00:12:05 And so,
00:12:05 --> 00:12:06 this nation thought,
00:12:06 --> 00:12:06 well,
00:12:06 --> 00:12:07 we can't worship
00:12:07 --> 00:12:08 where we're supposed to
00:12:08 --> 00:12:10 but if we build a temple
00:12:10 --> 00:12:11 at Bethel
00:12:11 --> 00:12:13 and we worship there,
00:12:14 --> 00:12:15 then God will have
00:12:15 --> 00:12:16 to be present with us
00:12:16 --> 00:12:17 because that's a place
00:12:17 --> 00:12:18 of God's presence.
00:12:18 --> 00:12:18 Now,
00:12:18 --> 00:12:19 the problem is,
00:12:19 --> 00:12:20 that's not what God
00:12:20 --> 00:12:21 told them to do.
00:12:21 --> 00:12:22 That's not what God promised
00:12:22 --> 00:12:24 but that was their strategy.
00:12:25 --> 00:12:25 Bethel.
00:12:25 --> 00:12:27 Second place is Beersheba.
00:12:27 --> 00:12:29 Beersheba is another place
00:12:29 --> 00:12:29 that comes out
00:12:29 --> 00:12:30 from earlier in the Bible
00:12:30 --> 00:12:31 in Genesis
00:12:31 --> 00:12:32 where Abraham,
00:12:32 --> 00:12:33 Isaac and Jacob,
00:12:34 --> 00:12:34 again,
00:12:34 --> 00:12:35 these are the guys
00:12:35 --> 00:12:35 who kind of,
00:12:36 --> 00:12:37 the great grandfathers
00:12:37 --> 00:12:38 of this nation Israel,
00:12:39 --> 00:12:40 they all encounter God
00:12:40 --> 00:12:41 in this place,
00:12:41 --> 00:12:41 Beersheba.
00:12:42 --> 00:12:44 And they all encounter God
00:12:44 --> 00:12:45 in a unique way
00:12:45 --> 00:12:46 where they are on a journey
00:12:46 --> 00:12:48 to which they don't know
00:12:48 --> 00:12:49 the outcome.
00:12:49 --> 00:12:50 Abraham is travelling
00:12:50 --> 00:12:52 to a land that's not his,
00:12:52 --> 00:12:53 that God has told him
00:12:53 --> 00:12:53 is going to be his.
00:12:53 --> 00:12:54 He's freaking out
00:12:54 --> 00:12:55 and God says,
00:12:55 --> 00:12:56 do not fear,
00:12:56 --> 00:12:57 I will go with you.
00:12:58 --> 00:12:59 Jacob is travelling
00:12:59 --> 00:13:01 on his way to Egypt
00:13:01 --> 00:13:02 because of a famine
00:13:02 --> 00:13:03 and he's nervous
00:13:03 --> 00:13:03 about going to Egypt
00:13:03 --> 00:13:04 and rightfully so
00:13:04 --> 00:13:05 because his descendants
00:13:05 --> 00:13:07 will end up being slaves there.
00:13:07 --> 00:13:08 But God says,
00:13:08 --> 00:13:09 do not fear,
00:13:10 --> 00:13:11 I will go with you.
00:13:12 --> 00:13:12 So Beersheba
00:13:12 --> 00:13:14 is this symbolic reminder
00:13:14 --> 00:13:17 that God protects his people.
00:13:18 --> 00:13:19 And so these geniuses
00:13:19 --> 00:13:19 come up with an idea,
00:13:19 --> 00:13:20 we'll put a temple
00:13:20 --> 00:13:21 at Beersheba,
00:13:21 --> 00:13:22 we'll do church there
00:13:22 --> 00:13:23 and then God
00:13:23 --> 00:13:24 will have to protect us.
00:13:26 --> 00:13:27 But God didn't promise that.
00:13:29 --> 00:13:30 Last one,
00:13:30 --> 00:13:31 Gilgal.
00:13:32 --> 00:13:34 Gilgal was the first place
00:13:34 --> 00:13:35 that God's people camped
00:13:35 --> 00:13:36 when they moved
00:13:36 --> 00:13:37 into the promised land,
00:13:37 --> 00:13:38 the land that God
00:13:38 --> 00:13:38 was giving them.
00:13:39 --> 00:13:40 It's a place
00:13:40 --> 00:13:41 where they stopped
00:13:41 --> 00:13:42 and they had a big celebration
00:13:42 --> 00:13:44 to recommit to God.
00:13:44 --> 00:13:46 It was the first place
00:13:46 --> 00:13:47 where they got to enjoy
00:13:47 --> 00:13:48 this land
00:13:48 --> 00:13:49 that they'd been waiting
00:13:49 --> 00:13:49 and waiting
00:13:49 --> 00:13:50 and waiting to get.
00:13:51 --> 00:13:52 They enjoyed the fruit.
00:13:52 --> 00:13:53 It was symbolic
00:13:53 --> 00:13:54 of the inheritance
00:13:54 --> 00:13:56 that God had promised
00:13:56 --> 00:13:57 to this nation Israel.
00:13:57 --> 00:13:58 The inheritance
00:13:58 --> 00:13:59 they were enjoying now
00:13:59 --> 00:14:00 in the land
00:14:00 --> 00:14:00 that they lived in.
00:14:01 --> 00:14:02 It was a great land,
00:14:02 --> 00:14:03 good for farming,
00:14:03 --> 00:14:04 good for all these things
00:14:04 --> 00:14:04 and so they thought
00:14:04 --> 00:14:06 we'll put a church there
00:14:06 --> 00:14:08 and we'll go and worship there
00:14:08 --> 00:14:09 and then God
00:14:09 --> 00:14:10 will have to
00:14:10 --> 00:14:11 protect our inheritance.
00:14:11 --> 00:14:12 He'll have to protect
00:14:12 --> 00:14:13 our borders
00:14:13 --> 00:14:14 because we're worshipping
00:14:14 --> 00:14:15 at the place
00:14:15 --> 00:14:16 where some stuff happened
00:14:16 --> 00:14:19 but God didn't promise that.
00:14:20 --> 00:14:20 See,
00:14:21 --> 00:14:22 there are two
00:14:22 --> 00:14:23 really big issues
00:14:23 --> 00:14:24 with this new
00:14:24 --> 00:14:25 religious system.
00:14:25 --> 00:14:25 Now,
00:14:26 --> 00:14:27 give them some credit.
00:14:28 --> 00:14:29 The desire is right.
00:14:30 --> 00:14:32 The intention is right.
00:14:33 --> 00:14:34 But the big issue is,
00:14:34 --> 00:14:34 firstly,
00:14:36 --> 00:14:37 they've completely ignored
00:14:37 --> 00:14:39 and even rejected
00:14:39 --> 00:14:40 the explicit instruction
00:14:40 --> 00:14:41 that God gave in His law
00:14:41 --> 00:14:43 that He will dwell
00:14:43 --> 00:14:43 in His temple
00:14:43 --> 00:14:44 at Jerusalem.
00:14:45 --> 00:14:46 They've just kind of
00:14:46 --> 00:14:47 ignored that
00:14:47 --> 00:14:47 and used their
00:14:47 --> 00:14:49 brilliant powers of logic
00:14:49 --> 00:14:50 to invent a new way
00:14:50 --> 00:14:52 of engaging with God.
00:14:52 --> 00:14:55 They've explicitly rejected
00:14:55 --> 00:14:57 the gift that God gave them
00:14:57 --> 00:14:58 to tell them
00:14:58 --> 00:14:58 how to engage Him.
00:14:59 --> 00:14:59 I mean,
00:14:59 --> 00:15:00 do you guys remember
00:15:00 --> 00:15:01 a few months ago
00:15:01 --> 00:15:01 in church
00:15:01 --> 00:15:02 we did a big series
00:15:02 --> 00:15:02 in Leviticus?
00:15:03 --> 00:15:04 There was a lot of blood,
00:15:04 --> 00:15:05 there was a lot of dead animals
00:15:05 --> 00:15:05 if you remember it,
00:15:05 --> 00:15:06 in the stories,
00:15:06 --> 00:15:07 not in church,
00:15:07 --> 00:15:07 just to clarify
00:15:07 --> 00:15:08 if you're a guest.
00:15:09 --> 00:15:10 The book of Leviticus
00:15:10 --> 00:15:11 and some of the other
00:15:11 --> 00:15:11 big books
00:15:11 --> 00:15:12 at the beginning
00:15:12 --> 00:15:12 of the Bible
00:15:12 --> 00:15:14 are just full of details
00:15:14 --> 00:15:15 of God laying out,
00:15:15 --> 00:15:17 here's how you can worship me.
00:15:18 --> 00:15:19 Here's how you can
00:15:19 --> 00:15:20 have access to me.
00:15:20 --> 00:15:21 Here's what the priests
00:15:21 --> 00:15:21 will wear,
00:15:21 --> 00:15:22 here's the animals
00:15:22 --> 00:15:22 you will use,
00:15:22 --> 00:15:23 here's what the building
00:15:23 --> 00:15:24 will look like.
00:15:24 --> 00:15:25 It was very, very specific
00:15:25 --> 00:15:26 because it mattered
00:15:26 --> 00:15:28 because God was God
00:15:28 --> 00:15:29 and they were not
00:15:29 --> 00:15:30 and yet here they are
00:15:30 --> 00:15:31 and they've just ignored
00:15:31 --> 00:15:33 all of that stuff
00:15:33 --> 00:15:33 that God told them
00:15:33 --> 00:15:34 and come up
00:15:34 --> 00:15:35 with their own solution
00:15:35 --> 00:15:37 and so not surprisingly
00:15:37 --> 00:15:39 it's not working.
00:15:40 --> 00:15:41 But the second issue
00:15:41 --> 00:15:41 is even bigger.
00:15:43 --> 00:15:45 The whole system
00:15:45 --> 00:15:46 that they have built
00:15:46 --> 00:15:47 for relating to God here,
00:15:48 --> 00:15:49 the whole religious calendar
00:15:49 --> 00:15:50 and structure
00:15:50 --> 00:15:51 is built around
00:15:51 --> 00:15:52 a wrong view
00:15:52 --> 00:15:53 of who God is.
00:15:55 --> 00:15:55 I mean,
00:15:55 --> 00:15:56 in this system,
00:15:57 --> 00:15:57 worship
00:15:57 --> 00:15:59 is a transaction.
00:16:00 --> 00:16:01 In this system,
00:16:02 --> 00:16:03 if I go to Bethel
00:16:03 --> 00:16:05 and do my church there,
00:16:05 --> 00:16:06 then God owes me
00:16:06 --> 00:16:07 his presence.
00:16:08 --> 00:16:10 If I go to Gilgal,
00:16:10 --> 00:16:11 then God owes me
00:16:11 --> 00:16:12 this land.
00:16:12 --> 00:16:13 If I go to Beersheba,
00:16:13 --> 00:16:14 then God owes me
00:16:14 --> 00:16:15 protection.
00:16:16 --> 00:16:16 See,
00:16:16 --> 00:16:17 all the things
00:16:17 --> 00:16:18 that they have,
00:16:18 --> 00:16:19 all the things
00:16:19 --> 00:16:20 these places represent
00:16:20 --> 00:16:21 are gifts
00:16:21 --> 00:16:22 that God gave them
00:16:22 --> 00:16:23 out of his goodness
00:16:23 --> 00:16:24 and generosity
00:16:24 --> 00:16:25 and they have turned
00:16:25 --> 00:16:26 them into things
00:16:26 --> 00:16:28 that they are bartering
00:16:28 --> 00:16:28 for,
00:16:29 --> 00:16:30 trying to purchase
00:16:30 --> 00:16:30 from God,
00:16:31 --> 00:16:31 trying to earn.
00:16:34 --> 00:16:34 Suddenly,
00:16:34 --> 00:16:35 God has become
00:16:35 --> 00:16:36 someone who can be
00:16:36 --> 00:16:37 manipulated,
00:16:38 --> 00:16:39 even blackmailed
00:16:39 --> 00:16:40 into giving us stuff
00:16:40 --> 00:16:43 and the result
00:16:43 --> 00:16:45 is that because
00:16:45 --> 00:16:46 they feel like
00:16:46 --> 00:16:46 they've held up
00:16:46 --> 00:16:47 their side of the bargain,
00:16:49 --> 00:16:50 they feel like
00:16:50 --> 00:16:51 God has to hold up
00:16:51 --> 00:16:52 his side of the bargain
00:16:52 --> 00:16:55 and one of the reasons
00:16:55 --> 00:16:56 they were feeling
00:16:56 --> 00:16:57 so secure
00:16:57 --> 00:16:58 is because materially
00:16:58 --> 00:16:59 at this point,
00:16:59 --> 00:17:00 they're doing really well.
00:17:01 --> 00:17:02 It seems like
00:17:02 --> 00:17:03 it's working.
00:17:03 --> 00:17:04 They've rejected
00:17:04 --> 00:17:05 what he said,
00:17:05 --> 00:17:06 they've chosen
00:17:06 --> 00:17:06 their own adventure,
00:17:07 --> 00:17:08 they've completely
00:17:08 --> 00:17:09 misunderstood him
00:17:09 --> 00:17:09 and shrunk him down
00:17:09 --> 00:17:10 into somebody
00:17:10 --> 00:17:11 who is on par
00:17:11 --> 00:17:11 with them
00:17:11 --> 00:17:12 that they can deal
00:17:12 --> 00:17:13 with like an equal
00:17:13 --> 00:17:15 and at first glance
00:17:15 --> 00:17:15 for them,
00:17:15 --> 00:17:16 it seems like
00:17:16 --> 00:17:16 it's working.
00:17:18 --> 00:17:18 They're having
00:17:18 --> 00:17:19 bumper crops,
00:17:19 --> 00:17:19 they're rich,
00:17:19 --> 00:17:20 they're beating
00:17:20 --> 00:17:20 other armies,
00:17:21 --> 00:17:21 life is good.
00:17:24 --> 00:17:25 They're basing
00:17:25 --> 00:17:26 their understanding,
00:17:26 --> 00:17:26 their confidence
00:17:26 --> 00:17:27 in God's approval
00:17:27 --> 00:17:31 on their circumstances
00:17:31 --> 00:17:33 instead of
00:17:33 --> 00:17:34 on what God
00:17:34 --> 00:17:34 has explicitly
00:17:34 --> 00:17:35 said to them
00:17:35 --> 00:17:36 in his word,
00:17:37 --> 00:17:37 in the law.
00:17:38 --> 00:17:39 Instead of
00:17:39 --> 00:17:39 on the message
00:17:39 --> 00:17:40 that he is
00:17:40 --> 00:17:40 speaking to them
00:17:40 --> 00:17:41 through the prophet
00:17:41 --> 00:17:42 right at this moment,
00:17:42 --> 00:17:43 they don't want
00:17:43 --> 00:17:43 to hear that
00:17:43 --> 00:17:44 because they've
00:17:44 --> 00:17:45 found a story,
00:17:45 --> 00:17:45 their own version,
00:17:46 --> 00:17:46 that's kind of
00:17:46 --> 00:17:47 nicer to listen to.
00:17:49 --> 00:17:49 Life's good,
00:17:49 --> 00:17:50 we just keep doing
00:17:50 --> 00:17:51 what we're doing,
00:17:51 --> 00:17:52 everything's easy.
00:17:54 --> 00:17:54 Israel has
00:17:54 --> 00:17:55 security,
00:17:56 --> 00:17:57 false security,
00:17:58 --> 00:18:00 because it's
00:18:00 --> 00:18:01 completely lost
00:18:01 --> 00:18:01 sight of who
00:18:01 --> 00:18:02 God really is.
00:18:04 --> 00:18:05 That was the answer.
00:18:05 --> 00:18:07 they put themselves
00:18:07 --> 00:18:08 in a situation
00:18:08 --> 00:18:09 where they were
00:18:09 --> 00:18:09 kind of offside
00:18:09 --> 00:18:10 with God
00:18:10 --> 00:18:10 because they'd
00:18:10 --> 00:18:11 moved away
00:18:11 --> 00:18:12 and the way
00:18:12 --> 00:18:12 they dealt
00:18:12 --> 00:18:13 with it
00:18:13 --> 00:18:13 was by shrinking
00:18:13 --> 00:18:14 God so that
00:18:14 --> 00:18:14 they could
00:18:14 --> 00:18:16 delude themselves
00:18:16 --> 00:18:17 into being a
00:18:17 --> 00:18:17 little bit more
00:18:17 --> 00:18:18 comfortable.
00:18:21 --> 00:18:22 But God's not
00:18:22 --> 00:18:22 open to
00:18:22 --> 00:18:23 redefinition.
00:18:25 --> 00:18:26 There in verse
00:18:26 --> 00:18:26 eight,
00:18:27 --> 00:18:27 having rebuked
00:18:27 --> 00:18:28 them for going
00:18:28 --> 00:18:29 to Bethel
00:18:29 --> 00:18:29 and Gilgal
00:18:29 --> 00:18:30 and Beersheba,
00:18:30 --> 00:18:31 Amos says,
00:18:31 --> 00:18:32 he who made
00:18:32 --> 00:18:33 this is in
00:18:33 --> 00:18:33 chapter five,
00:18:33 --> 00:18:34 he who made
00:18:34 --> 00:18:34 the Pleiades
00:18:34 --> 00:18:35 and Orion
00:18:35 --> 00:18:36 who turns
00:18:36 --> 00:18:36 midnight into
00:18:36 --> 00:18:37 dawn,
00:18:37 --> 00:18:38 darkens day
00:18:38 --> 00:18:38 into night,
00:18:38 --> 00:18:39 who calls
00:18:39 --> 00:18:39 for the
00:18:39 --> 00:18:39 waters of
00:18:39 --> 00:18:40 the sea
00:18:40 --> 00:18:41 and pours
00:18:41 --> 00:18:41 them out
00:18:41 --> 00:18:41 over the
00:18:41 --> 00:18:42 face of
00:18:42 --> 00:18:42 the land,
00:18:42 --> 00:18:43 the Lord
00:18:43 --> 00:18:44 is his
00:18:44 --> 00:18:44 name.
00:18:46 --> 00:18:46 He has
00:18:46 --> 00:18:47 no equal,
00:18:47 --> 00:18:48 no rival.
00:18:48 --> 00:18:48 He's the
00:18:48 --> 00:18:49 creator and
00:18:49 --> 00:18:50 sustainer and
00:18:50 --> 00:18:51 he's not open
00:18:51 --> 00:18:52 to redefinition.
00:18:53 --> 00:18:54 He's not a
00:18:54 --> 00:18:55 movable feast.
00:18:55 --> 00:18:56 We can't
00:18:56 --> 00:18:57 adjust him to
00:18:57 --> 00:18:57 suit us
00:18:57 --> 00:18:59 just because
00:18:59 --> 00:19:00 something's
00:19:00 --> 00:19:01 uncomfortable or
00:19:01 --> 00:19:01 difficult.
00:19:03 --> 00:19:04 And yet,
00:19:04 --> 00:19:05 for a heap
00:19:05 --> 00:19:05 of us,
00:19:05 --> 00:19:05 that's exactly
00:19:05 --> 00:19:06 what we do.
00:19:09 --> 00:19:09 When we
00:19:09 --> 00:19:10 come across
00:19:10 --> 00:19:10 things in
00:19:10 --> 00:19:11 God's word
00:19:11 --> 00:19:11 that are
00:19:11 --> 00:19:12 challenging,
00:19:12 --> 00:19:13 that are
00:19:13 --> 00:19:13 maybe calling
00:19:13 --> 00:19:14 for change
00:19:14 --> 00:19:15 or sacrifice,
00:19:16 --> 00:19:16 when we
00:19:16 --> 00:19:16 look at
00:19:16 --> 00:19:17 parts of
00:19:17 --> 00:19:17 God that
00:19:17 --> 00:19:18 are difficult
00:19:18 --> 00:19:18 to hold
00:19:18 --> 00:19:19 like his
00:19:19 --> 00:19:20 wrath and
00:19:20 --> 00:19:20 his judgment,
00:19:22 --> 00:19:23 or when our
00:19:23 --> 00:19:24 circumstances
00:19:24 --> 00:19:24 aren't playing
00:19:24 --> 00:19:25 out the way
00:19:25 --> 00:19:25 that we
00:19:25 --> 00:19:26 think they
00:19:26 --> 00:19:26 should,
00:19:26 --> 00:19:31 we
00:19:31 --> 00:19:31 adjust
00:19:31 --> 00:19:32 God.
00:19:32 --> 00:19:33 We
00:19:33 --> 00:19:33 ignore what
00:19:33 --> 00:19:34 he's saying
00:19:34 --> 00:19:34 to us in
00:19:34 --> 00:19:35 his word
00:19:35 --> 00:19:39 and instead
00:19:39 --> 00:19:40 lead ourselves
00:19:40 --> 00:19:40 into this
00:19:40 --> 00:19:41 false security.
00:19:42 --> 00:19:43 For example,
00:19:44 --> 00:19:45 right now as a
00:19:45 --> 00:19:45 church,
00:19:45 --> 00:19:46 we're in a
00:19:46 --> 00:19:47 season where
00:19:47 --> 00:19:47 there is a
00:19:47 --> 00:19:48 clear sense
00:19:48 --> 00:19:48 that God
00:19:48 --> 00:19:49 is pushing
00:19:49 --> 00:19:50 us.
00:19:50 --> 00:19:50 If you've
00:19:50 --> 00:19:51 been around
00:19:51 --> 00:19:51 here for
00:19:51 --> 00:19:52 more than
00:19:52 --> 00:19:52 a month
00:19:52 --> 00:19:52 or two,
00:19:52 --> 00:19:53 you'll get
00:19:53 --> 00:19:53 a sense
00:19:53 --> 00:19:54 that God's
00:19:54 --> 00:19:54 been doing
00:19:54 --> 00:19:55 a work
00:19:55 --> 00:19:55 on us
00:19:55 --> 00:19:55 where he
00:19:55 --> 00:19:56 keeps pressing
00:19:56 --> 00:19:56 the same
00:19:56 --> 00:19:58 button about
00:19:58 --> 00:19:59 us upping
00:19:59 --> 00:19:59 our game
00:19:59 --> 00:20:00 when it comes
00:20:00 --> 00:20:01 to sacrificially
00:20:01 --> 00:20:02 loving our
00:20:02 --> 00:20:02 neighbour,
00:20:03 --> 00:20:03 caring for
00:20:03 --> 00:20:04 those who
00:20:04 --> 00:20:04 are in need
00:20:04 --> 00:20:05 in the
00:20:05 --> 00:20:05 world.
00:20:08 --> 00:20:08 That's
00:20:08 --> 00:20:09 uncomfortable
00:20:09 --> 00:20:09 to hear
00:20:09 --> 00:20:12 because to
00:20:12 --> 00:20:13 sacrificially care
00:20:13 --> 00:20:13 for other
00:20:13 --> 00:20:14 people means
00:20:14 --> 00:20:14 you've got to
00:20:14 --> 00:20:14 sacrifice.
00:20:15 --> 00:20:16 It means
00:20:16 --> 00:20:16 you've got to
00:20:16 --> 00:20:16 give up
00:20:16 --> 00:20:17 something in
00:20:17 --> 00:20:17 your life
00:20:17 --> 00:20:17 that you
00:20:17 --> 00:20:18 enjoy,
00:20:19 --> 00:20:20 something that's
00:20:20 --> 00:20:21 become part
00:20:21 --> 00:20:21 of the way
00:20:21 --> 00:20:22 you work,
00:20:22 --> 00:20:23 part of your
00:20:23 --> 00:20:23 rhythm.
00:20:25 --> 00:20:26 Maybe you
00:20:26 --> 00:20:26 were sitting
00:20:26 --> 00:20:27 there as
00:20:27 --> 00:20:27 we've gone
00:20:27 --> 00:20:27 through these
00:20:27 --> 00:20:28 series after
00:20:28 --> 00:20:29 series and
00:20:29 --> 00:20:29 it keeps
00:20:29 --> 00:20:29 coming up and
00:20:29 --> 00:20:30 you're thinking,
00:20:30 --> 00:20:31 I already
00:20:31 --> 00:20:31 give some.
00:20:32 --> 00:20:32 In fact,
00:20:32 --> 00:20:33 I even upped
00:20:33 --> 00:20:33 my giving just
00:20:33 --> 00:20:34 recently and
00:20:34 --> 00:20:35 just after that
00:20:35 --> 00:20:35 God gave me a
00:20:35 --> 00:20:36 pay rise so
00:20:36 --> 00:20:37 he must be
00:20:37 --> 00:20:37 pretty happy
00:20:37 --> 00:20:38 with what I'm
00:20:38 --> 00:20:39 doing because
00:20:39 --> 00:20:39 stuff's kind of
00:20:39 --> 00:20:40 working out for
00:20:40 --> 00:20:40 me.
00:20:40 --> 00:20:40 It's all
00:20:40 --> 00:20:41 fallen into
00:20:41 --> 00:20:41 place.
00:20:45 --> 00:20:45 So this
00:20:45 --> 00:20:46 challenge must
00:20:46 --> 00:20:46 be for the
00:20:46 --> 00:20:47 other people.
00:20:51 --> 00:20:52 One of the
00:20:52 --> 00:20:53 key signs,
00:20:53 --> 00:20:55 warning signs
00:20:55 --> 00:20:55 that you've
00:20:55 --> 00:20:56 wandered across
00:20:56 --> 00:20:57 into this
00:20:57 --> 00:20:58 false security
00:20:58 --> 00:21:01 group is a
00:21:01 --> 00:21:02 refusal to
00:21:02 --> 00:21:02 hear challenge
00:21:02 --> 00:21:03 from God,
00:21:04 --> 00:21:06 is a refusal
00:21:06 --> 00:21:07 to be
00:21:07 --> 00:21:08 corrected and
00:21:08 --> 00:21:09 rebuked.
00:21:09 --> 00:21:10 If you're
00:21:10 --> 00:21:11 wondering whether
00:21:11 --> 00:21:11 or not you've
00:21:11 --> 00:21:12 strayed over into
00:21:12 --> 00:21:13 this land,
00:21:14 --> 00:21:15 a good clue
00:21:15 --> 00:21:16 will be how
00:21:16 --> 00:21:17 do you approach
00:21:17 --> 00:21:18 hearing God's
00:21:18 --> 00:21:18 word?
00:21:19 --> 00:21:20 How do you
00:21:20 --> 00:21:20 approach what
00:21:20 --> 00:21:20 the Bible
00:21:20 --> 00:21:21 says?
00:21:21 --> 00:21:22 As soon as
00:21:22 --> 00:21:22 you find
00:21:22 --> 00:21:23 yourself tuning
00:21:23 --> 00:21:24 out or when
00:21:24 --> 00:21:25 we start
00:21:25 --> 00:21:25 applying the
00:21:25 --> 00:21:26 Bible, you're
00:21:26 --> 00:21:26 sitting there
00:21:26 --> 00:21:27 making a note
00:21:27 --> 00:21:27 of which people
00:21:27 --> 00:21:28 in this room
00:21:28 --> 00:21:28 need to hear
00:21:28 --> 00:21:29 that?
00:21:33 --> 00:21:34 That is a
00:21:34 --> 00:21:34 sure sign
00:21:34 --> 00:21:36 that you are
00:21:36 --> 00:21:37 starting to base
00:21:37 --> 00:21:38 your security on
00:21:38 --> 00:21:38 something that's
00:21:38 --> 00:21:39 not God.
00:21:40 --> 00:21:41 You might be
00:21:41 --> 00:21:41 still calling it
00:21:41 --> 00:21:44 God, but your
00:21:44 --> 00:21:46 confidence is
00:21:46 --> 00:21:48 now on who
00:21:48 --> 00:21:49 you are compared
00:21:49 --> 00:21:51 to them, how
00:21:51 --> 00:21:52 hard you're
00:21:52 --> 00:21:54 working, how
00:21:54 --> 00:21:56 good life is as
00:21:56 --> 00:21:57 evidence that God
00:21:57 --> 00:21:57 must be happy
00:21:57 --> 00:21:58 with you.
00:22:00 --> 00:22:01 It's what Israel
00:22:01 --> 00:22:01 did.
00:22:03 --> 00:22:03 And you know,
00:22:03 --> 00:22:04 once they stopped
00:22:04 --> 00:22:05 listening to God,
00:22:06 --> 00:22:07 once they replaced
00:22:07 --> 00:22:08 the real God with
00:22:08 --> 00:22:09 their own small
00:22:09 --> 00:22:10 unimpressive version
00:22:10 --> 00:22:10 of God, it didn't
00:22:10 --> 00:22:11 take them long to
00:22:11 --> 00:22:12 go the next step and
00:22:12 --> 00:22:13 just start worshipping
00:22:13 --> 00:22:14 other gods.
00:22:15 --> 00:22:16 God shrunk so
00:22:16 --> 00:22:17 much for them that
00:22:17 --> 00:22:18 these temples that
00:22:18 --> 00:22:19 they made at
00:22:19 --> 00:22:20 first as a means
00:22:20 --> 00:22:21 of worshipping the
00:22:21 --> 00:22:23 God became houses
00:22:23 --> 00:22:24 where they worshipped
00:22:24 --> 00:22:25 any God they could
00:22:25 --> 00:22:25 find.
00:22:26 --> 00:22:27 The gods from the
00:22:27 --> 00:22:28 countries around
00:22:28 --> 00:22:28 them.
00:22:29 --> 00:22:30 I mean, it's the
00:22:30 --> 00:22:31 logical conclusion.
00:22:33 --> 00:22:34 When you start
00:22:34 --> 00:22:35 changing God, which
00:22:35 --> 00:22:36 is essentially
00:22:36 --> 00:22:37 inventing God, you
00:22:37 --> 00:22:37 may as well
00:22:37 --> 00:22:38 worship any God.
00:22:39 --> 00:22:40 They're equally
00:22:40 --> 00:22:40 powerless.
00:22:43 --> 00:22:45 Now, it sounds
00:22:45 --> 00:22:46 disgraceful, or it
00:22:46 --> 00:22:46 should sound
00:22:46 --> 00:22:47 disgraceful, because
00:22:47 --> 00:22:48 it is.
00:22:49 --> 00:22:50 That this people
00:22:50 --> 00:22:51 who were chosen
00:22:51 --> 00:22:52 by God, who were
00:22:52 --> 00:22:53 rescued out of
00:22:53 --> 00:22:54 slavery, who God
00:22:54 --> 00:22:55 has provided for,
00:22:55 --> 00:22:56 who God went
00:22:56 --> 00:22:56 before to give
00:22:56 --> 00:22:57 them this whole
00:22:57 --> 00:22:58 land that they're
00:22:58 --> 00:22:58 now living in,
00:22:59 --> 00:23:00 could somehow get
00:23:00 --> 00:23:01 to the point where
00:23:01 --> 00:23:02 they treat God like
00:23:02 --> 00:23:03 he's somebody that
00:23:03 --> 00:23:04 they can deal
00:23:04 --> 00:23:06 with, someone they
00:23:06 --> 00:23:07 can handle and
00:23:07 --> 00:23:08 control and
00:23:08 --> 00:23:08 manipulate.
00:23:08 --> 00:23:14 But before you
00:23:14 --> 00:23:15 shake your head at
00:23:15 --> 00:23:16 them too much,
00:23:18 --> 00:23:19 you've got to
00:23:19 --> 00:23:19 stop and ask
00:23:19 --> 00:23:20 yourself the
00:23:20 --> 00:23:21 question, where
00:23:21 --> 00:23:22 am I doing the
00:23:22 --> 00:23:23 same thing?
00:23:26 --> 00:23:27 Have I started
00:23:27 --> 00:23:28 down a path of
00:23:28 --> 00:23:29 redefining God to
00:23:29 --> 00:23:30 suit me better?
00:23:32 --> 00:23:33 Are there things
00:23:33 --> 00:23:33 that would be
00:23:33 --> 00:23:35 controversial amongst
00:23:35 --> 00:23:36 my friends that I've
00:23:36 --> 00:23:37 decided to reject as
00:23:37 --> 00:23:38 well, even though
00:23:38 --> 00:23:39 God's Word says
00:23:39 --> 00:23:39 it?
00:23:40 --> 00:23:41 Are there things
00:23:41 --> 00:23:42 that he's asking me
00:23:42 --> 00:23:43 to do in my life
00:23:43 --> 00:23:44 that I've decided
00:23:44 --> 00:23:45 would just be a
00:23:45 --> 00:23:45 little bit too
00:23:45 --> 00:23:46 much?
00:23:46 --> 00:23:47 I'll stay in the
00:23:47 --> 00:23:48 normal Christian, I
00:23:48 --> 00:23:48 don't want to be one
00:23:48 --> 00:23:49 of those fanatics
00:23:49 --> 00:23:50 categories?
00:23:55 --> 00:23:55 Where does your
00:23:55 --> 00:23:56 confidence come
00:23:56 --> 00:23:56 from?
00:23:58 --> 00:23:59 Your confidence
00:23:59 --> 00:24:00 that God loves
00:24:00 --> 00:24:00 you?
00:24:01 --> 00:24:03 Is it how hard you
00:24:03 --> 00:24:04 work to serve him
00:24:04 --> 00:24:05 here at church?
00:24:05 --> 00:24:07 Is it how nice you
00:24:07 --> 00:24:07 are compared to
00:24:07 --> 00:24:08 other people?
00:24:09 --> 00:24:10 Is it how great
00:24:10 --> 00:24:11 life is going right
00:24:11 --> 00:24:11 now?
00:24:14 --> 00:24:16 Or is it what God
00:24:16 --> 00:24:19 has said in his
00:24:19 --> 00:24:19 Word?
00:24:22 --> 00:24:23 See, the scary
00:24:23 --> 00:24:24 part about this is
00:24:24 --> 00:24:25 this false
00:24:25 --> 00:24:26 confidence group
00:24:26 --> 00:24:28 and this insecure
00:24:28 --> 00:24:30 group are actually
00:24:30 --> 00:24:31 closer than you
00:24:31 --> 00:24:31 think.
00:24:31 --> 00:24:34 they actually
00:24:34 --> 00:24:35 have the same
00:24:35 --> 00:24:35 problem.
00:24:37 --> 00:24:38 For both
00:24:38 --> 00:24:39 groups, the
00:24:39 --> 00:24:40 issue is they
00:24:40 --> 00:24:40 have a wrong
00:24:40 --> 00:24:41 view of God.
00:24:43 --> 00:24:44 Some people I
00:24:44 --> 00:24:45 spoke to who
00:24:45 --> 00:24:45 left our church
00:24:45 --> 00:24:46 several years ago
00:24:46 --> 00:24:47 expressed their
00:24:47 --> 00:24:49 frustration that
00:24:49 --> 00:24:49 sometimes when we
00:24:49 --> 00:24:50 open the Bible,
00:24:50 --> 00:24:51 they felt scolded
00:24:51 --> 00:24:52 or rebuked.
00:24:53 --> 00:24:54 And what they
00:24:54 --> 00:24:55 wanted was to be
00:24:55 --> 00:24:55 told that God
00:24:55 --> 00:24:57 loved them, which
00:24:57 --> 00:24:58 is true and is a
00:24:58 --> 00:24:59 good thing to hear.
00:25:01 --> 00:25:02 But they
00:25:02 --> 00:25:03 weren't looking for
00:25:03 --> 00:25:04 a God to serve
00:25:04 --> 00:25:04 and a God to
00:25:04 --> 00:25:06 obey, they were
00:25:06 --> 00:25:06 looking for a
00:25:06 --> 00:25:06 puppy.
00:25:08 --> 00:25:09 They just wanted
00:25:09 --> 00:25:10 somebody to get
00:25:10 --> 00:25:10 excited when they
00:25:10 --> 00:25:11 saw them and make
00:25:11 --> 00:25:12 them feel good.
00:25:14 --> 00:25:15 And so they
00:25:15 --> 00:25:15 went looking for a
00:25:15 --> 00:25:17 church where their
00:25:17 --> 00:25:17 version of God
00:25:17 --> 00:25:18 wouldn't be
00:25:18 --> 00:25:19 challenged and
00:25:19 --> 00:25:20 where they
00:25:20 --> 00:25:21 themselves wouldn't
00:25:21 --> 00:25:22 be challenged.
00:25:22 --> 00:25:26 For some people,
00:25:26 --> 00:25:27 opening the Bible,
00:25:27 --> 00:25:28 coming to church
00:25:28 --> 00:25:29 is a process of
00:25:29 --> 00:25:30 let's hear what
00:25:30 --> 00:25:31 God has to say so
00:25:31 --> 00:25:32 I can decide whether
00:25:32 --> 00:25:32 or not I want to
00:25:32 --> 00:25:32 do this.
00:25:34 --> 00:25:35 Let's check if this
00:25:35 --> 00:25:36 fits in with how
00:25:36 --> 00:25:37 my life's going and
00:25:37 --> 00:25:38 what I think is
00:25:38 --> 00:25:39 reasonable, what my
00:25:39 --> 00:25:39 friends say.
00:25:40 --> 00:25:41 And if it fits,
00:25:42 --> 00:25:42 then I'm on
00:25:42 --> 00:25:42 board.
00:25:45 --> 00:25:47 But the
00:25:47 --> 00:25:47 problem with that
00:25:47 --> 00:25:49 is becoming a
00:25:49 --> 00:25:50 Christian,
00:25:50 --> 00:25:52 following God
00:25:52 --> 00:25:54 is the decision
00:25:54 --> 00:25:55 to follow God
00:25:55 --> 00:25:56 no matter what.
00:25:58 --> 00:25:58 You kind of
00:25:58 --> 00:25:59 can't take a
00:25:59 --> 00:26:00 half step in.
00:26:01 --> 00:26:02 That's kind of
00:26:02 --> 00:26:02 why the whole
00:26:02 --> 00:26:03 idea of normal
00:26:03 --> 00:26:04 and fanaticals
00:26:04 --> 00:26:05 is not
00:26:05 --> 00:26:05 particularly
00:26:05 --> 00:26:06 helpful.
00:26:08 --> 00:26:09 The decision
00:26:09 --> 00:26:11 to follow God
00:26:11 --> 00:26:12 means that having
00:26:12 --> 00:26:13 seen who he is,
00:26:14 --> 00:26:15 having seen what
00:26:15 --> 00:26:16 he has done in
00:26:16 --> 00:26:17 sending his son to
00:26:17 --> 00:26:18 die in our place,
00:26:18 --> 00:26:22 means we open
00:26:22 --> 00:26:23 our Bibles
00:26:23 --> 00:26:25 and we arrive
00:26:25 --> 00:26:26 here at church
00:26:26 --> 00:26:27 with an attitude
00:26:27 --> 00:26:27 of God,
00:26:27 --> 00:26:28 I'm in,
00:26:28 --> 00:26:28 just tell me
00:26:28 --> 00:26:29 what.
00:26:31 --> 00:26:31 You say jump,
00:26:32 --> 00:26:33 I'll say how
00:26:33 --> 00:26:33 high.
00:26:33 --> 00:26:34 I'm yours,
00:26:34 --> 00:26:35 whatever you need,
00:26:35 --> 00:26:36 whatever it costs
00:26:36 --> 00:26:36 me.
00:26:38 --> 00:26:39 God, I know I'm
00:26:39 --> 00:26:39 not finished,
00:26:40 --> 00:26:40 I know there's
00:26:40 --> 00:26:41 work to be done,
00:26:41 --> 00:26:42 so just show me
00:26:42 --> 00:26:42 what it is I need
00:26:42 --> 00:26:43 to do,
00:26:43 --> 00:26:45 or stop doing,
00:26:45 --> 00:26:46 or confess.
00:26:46 --> 00:26:49 It's the attitude
00:26:49 --> 00:26:50 that recognizes
00:26:50 --> 00:26:51 that God has
00:26:51 --> 00:26:52 absolute authority,
00:26:54 --> 00:26:56 that God owes
00:26:56 --> 00:26:57 us nothing.
00:26:58 --> 00:26:59 The message of
00:26:59 --> 00:27:00 Amos, and in
00:27:00 --> 00:27:00 fact the whole
00:27:00 --> 00:27:02 Bible, is to
00:27:02 --> 00:27:02 repent,
00:27:03 --> 00:27:03 calling us to
00:27:03 --> 00:27:04 come back to
00:27:04 --> 00:27:05 God as he
00:27:05 --> 00:27:06 really is,
00:27:06 --> 00:27:07 as he's shown
00:27:07 --> 00:27:08 himself to be,
00:27:08 --> 00:27:09 in his word,
00:27:09 --> 00:27:10 in Jesus.
00:27:12 --> 00:27:13 It's a call to
00:27:13 --> 00:27:14 keep listening to
00:27:14 --> 00:27:16 him, to keep
00:27:16 --> 00:27:16 submitting to
00:27:16 --> 00:27:18 him, to
00:27:18 --> 00:27:18 keep being
00:27:18 --> 00:27:19 directed by
00:27:19 --> 00:27:19 him, to
00:27:19 --> 00:27:20 keep obeying
00:27:20 --> 00:27:23 him, because
00:27:23 --> 00:27:24 otherwise, all
00:27:24 --> 00:27:27 that's left is
00:27:27 --> 00:27:27 judgment.
00:27:31 --> 00:27:32 Our natural
00:27:32 --> 00:27:33 tendency, just
00:27:33 --> 00:27:33 like Israel's
00:27:33 --> 00:27:34 was, is to
00:27:34 --> 00:27:36 overemphasize the
00:27:36 --> 00:27:37 mercy of God.
00:27:40 --> 00:27:40 That's the bit
00:27:40 --> 00:27:41 that we hear,
00:27:41 --> 00:27:42 that's the bit
00:27:42 --> 00:27:43 we take home and
00:27:43 --> 00:27:43 remember from the
00:27:43 --> 00:27:44 sermon.
00:27:44 --> 00:27:46 Even here in
00:27:46 --> 00:27:46 chapter 7 that
00:27:46 --> 00:27:47 Deborah had out
00:27:47 --> 00:27:48 for us, there's
00:27:48 --> 00:27:49 two judgments that
00:27:49 --> 00:27:50 God pronounces, the
00:27:50 --> 00:27:51 locust and the
00:27:51 --> 00:27:52 second one, which I
00:27:52 --> 00:27:53 don't have in front
00:27:53 --> 00:27:53 of me.
00:27:55 --> 00:27:56 And after Amos
00:27:56 --> 00:27:57 pleads with him for
00:27:57 --> 00:27:58 these judgments, God
00:27:58 --> 00:27:59 relents, says I
00:27:59 --> 00:28:01 won't do it, and
00:28:01 --> 00:28:01 he's merciful.
00:28:01 --> 00:28:02 And we want to
00:28:02 --> 00:28:03 stop there and go,
00:28:03 --> 00:28:03 amen.
00:28:05 --> 00:28:05 That's the message
00:28:05 --> 00:28:06 for tonight, God is
00:28:06 --> 00:28:07 merciful.
00:28:07 --> 00:28:07 He gets angry,
00:28:08 --> 00:28:08 rightfully, fair
00:28:08 --> 00:28:09 enough, but he
00:28:09 --> 00:28:10 doesn't follow through,
00:28:10 --> 00:28:11 so it's okay,
00:28:11 --> 00:28:11 fantastic.
00:28:11 --> 00:28:12 And God is
00:28:12 --> 00:28:14 merciful, but he's
00:28:14 --> 00:28:16 not only merciful.
00:28:18 --> 00:28:19 And if you find
00:28:19 --> 00:28:21 yourself with this
00:28:21 --> 00:28:23 kind of tendency to
00:28:23 --> 00:28:24 only ever hear, or
00:28:24 --> 00:28:25 only ever recognize,
00:28:26 --> 00:28:27 or only ever engage
00:28:27 --> 00:28:28 with God as the one
00:28:28 --> 00:28:28 who will always let
00:28:28 --> 00:28:30 you off, you need to
00:28:30 --> 00:28:32 hear the words, the
00:28:32 --> 00:28:33 warning of chapter 7
00:28:33 --> 00:28:34 verse 7.
00:28:35 --> 00:28:36 Having just
00:28:36 --> 00:28:37 relented twice,
00:28:38 --> 00:28:40 says, this is what he
00:28:40 --> 00:28:40 showed me.
00:28:41 --> 00:28:42 The Lord was
00:28:42 --> 00:28:43 standing by a wall
00:28:43 --> 00:28:44 that had been built
00:28:44 --> 00:28:44 true to plumb.
00:28:45 --> 00:28:46 With a plumb line in
00:28:46 --> 00:28:48 his hand, the Lord
00:28:48 --> 00:28:49 asked me, what do you
00:28:49 --> 00:28:49 see, Amos?
00:28:50 --> 00:28:51 A plumb line, I
00:28:51 --> 00:28:52 replied.
00:28:53 --> 00:28:53 Then the Lord said,
00:28:53 --> 00:28:55 look, I'm setting a
00:28:55 --> 00:28:56 plumb line among my
00:28:56 --> 00:28:57 people Israel.
00:28:59 --> 00:29:00 I will spare them
00:29:00 --> 00:29:01 no longer.
00:29:04 --> 00:29:05 I will spare them
00:29:05 --> 00:29:06 no longer.
00:29:06 --> 00:29:09 The high places of
00:29:09 --> 00:29:10 Isaac will be
00:29:10 --> 00:29:11 destroyed and the
00:29:11 --> 00:29:12 sanctuaries of Israel
00:29:12 --> 00:29:12 will be ruined.
00:29:13 --> 00:29:14 With my sword, I will
00:29:14 --> 00:29:15 rise against the
00:29:15 --> 00:29:16 house of Jeroboam.
00:29:17 --> 00:29:18 The message to a
00:29:18 --> 00:29:20 complacent, overconfident
00:29:20 --> 00:29:21 Israel, and maybe the
00:29:21 --> 00:29:22 message for us, is that
00:29:22 --> 00:29:24 mercy has its limits.
00:29:27 --> 00:29:29 If you begin to see
00:29:29 --> 00:29:30 this merciful God as a
00:29:30 --> 00:29:31 blank check who doesn't
00:29:31 --> 00:29:32 care about how you live
00:29:32 --> 00:29:33 or what you do,
00:29:33 --> 00:29:36 then the time has
00:29:36 --> 00:29:36 come.
00:29:39 --> 00:29:40 Here, the time has
00:29:40 --> 00:29:42 come for Israel to face
00:29:42 --> 00:29:44 its judgment, and
00:29:44 --> 00:29:45 eventually the time will
00:29:45 --> 00:29:46 come for every one of
00:29:46 --> 00:29:48 us to face God.
00:29:50 --> 00:29:51 For those of you who
00:29:51 --> 00:29:52 aren't familiar with
00:29:52 --> 00:29:53 building techniques, and
00:29:53 --> 00:29:54 I need to put my hand up
00:29:54 --> 00:29:55 and own that I'm one of
00:29:55 --> 00:29:56 those people, I did a
00:29:56 --> 00:29:57 very small amount of
00:29:57 --> 00:29:58 research to find out
00:29:58 --> 00:29:59 what a plumb line is.
00:30:00 --> 00:30:01 A plumb line is
00:30:01 --> 00:30:02 basically a piece of
00:30:02 --> 00:30:03 string with a weight on
00:30:03 --> 00:30:03 it.
00:30:03 --> 00:30:05 It's used by builders to
00:30:05 --> 00:30:06 make sure a wall is
00:30:06 --> 00:30:07 upright and straight.
00:30:07 --> 00:30:08 The point being, you
00:30:08 --> 00:30:09 use it and if the wall is
00:30:09 --> 00:30:10 not straight, you either
00:30:10 --> 00:30:11 knock it down or you
00:30:11 --> 00:30:11 fix it.
00:30:12 --> 00:30:14 Clearly the sense here is
00:30:14 --> 00:30:14 God is going to
00:30:14 --> 00:30:16 measure and he will get
00:30:16 --> 00:30:17 rid of anything that
00:30:17 --> 00:30:18 doesn't measure up.
00:30:20 --> 00:30:24 But the measure that he
00:30:24 --> 00:30:25 will use is the measure
00:30:25 --> 00:30:26 that he used to build his
00:30:26 --> 00:30:27 people in the first place.
00:30:27 --> 00:30:28 Did you catch that?
00:30:28 --> 00:30:29 The wall has been built
00:30:29 --> 00:30:31 true to plumb.
00:30:32 --> 00:30:34 The wall has been built
00:30:34 --> 00:30:35 on the truth of who
00:30:35 --> 00:30:36 God is.
00:30:37 --> 00:30:38 Of God's character
00:30:38 --> 00:30:40 revealed in the way that
00:30:40 --> 00:30:41 he chose them and he
00:30:41 --> 00:30:42 rescued them.
00:30:43 --> 00:30:44 God's character revealed
00:30:44 --> 00:30:45 in the law that he gave
00:30:45 --> 00:30:46 to them and the worship
00:30:46 --> 00:30:47 that he made possible.
00:30:47 --> 00:30:49 It's the same standard by
00:30:49 --> 00:30:50 which all people ever
00:30:50 --> 00:30:52 will be judged.
00:30:53 --> 00:30:55 Right worship of God
00:30:55 --> 00:30:58 and right justice for
00:30:58 --> 00:30:58 one another.
00:31:00 --> 00:31:02 The standard which
00:31:02 --> 00:31:03 Israel is being held to
00:31:03 --> 00:31:05 is are they loving God
00:31:05 --> 00:31:05 with all their heart,
00:31:05 --> 00:31:06 soul, mind and strength
00:31:06 --> 00:31:08 and are they loving their
00:31:08 --> 00:31:09 neighbour as themselves?
00:31:10 --> 00:31:12 The question God will
00:31:12 --> 00:31:14 ask is, is Israel's
00:31:14 --> 00:31:17 worship fitting for a
00:31:17 --> 00:31:19 sovereign God who rules
00:31:19 --> 00:31:19 over all?
00:31:21 --> 00:31:22 And do they seek justice
00:31:22 --> 00:31:23 for the poor and
00:31:23 --> 00:31:24 oppressed?
00:31:24 --> 00:31:24 And the resounding
00:31:24 --> 00:31:25 answer in this book
00:31:25 --> 00:31:28 so far is no chance.
00:31:30 --> 00:31:30 I mean they're
00:31:30 --> 00:31:31 worshipping false
00:31:31 --> 00:31:31 gods.
00:31:32 --> 00:31:33 They're watering down
00:31:33 --> 00:31:34 the real God.
00:31:34 --> 00:31:35 They're trampling on the
00:31:35 --> 00:31:36 poor in the process
00:31:36 --> 00:31:37 and worst of all
00:31:37 --> 00:31:38 they won't listen to
00:31:38 --> 00:31:39 the warning and the
00:31:39 --> 00:31:40 call to repent and
00:31:40 --> 00:31:40 come back.
00:31:43 --> 00:31:44 And so God's mercy
00:31:44 --> 00:31:45 has reached its
00:31:45 --> 00:31:46 limits.
00:31:47 --> 00:31:48 And he says,
00:31:48 --> 00:31:48 I will spare them
00:31:48 --> 00:31:49 no longer.
00:31:51 --> 00:31:52 Now it's really
00:31:52 --> 00:31:53 important that you
00:31:53 --> 00:31:53 understand, I'm not
00:31:53 --> 00:31:55 saying here that God's
00:31:55 --> 00:31:57 mercy has run out.
00:31:58 --> 00:32:00 I'm not saying that his
00:32:00 --> 00:32:02 allocation of mercy is
00:32:02 --> 00:32:02 exhausted.
00:32:03 --> 00:32:04 I'm not saying that
00:32:04 --> 00:32:05 Israel has failed too
00:32:05 --> 00:32:06 many times and so
00:32:06 --> 00:32:07 they've used up their
00:32:07 --> 00:32:08 bit.
00:32:09 --> 00:32:11 God's mercy is part of
00:32:11 --> 00:32:11 who he is.
00:32:12 --> 00:32:13 He is the merciful God.
00:32:13 --> 00:32:17 So he's the same amount
00:32:17 --> 00:32:18 merciful right now that
00:32:18 --> 00:32:19 he was before he created
00:32:19 --> 00:32:20 the world.
00:32:20 --> 00:32:21 He's eternally merciful.
00:32:22 --> 00:32:23 He will always be
00:32:23 --> 00:32:23 merciful.
00:32:23 --> 00:32:25 The issue for Israel
00:32:25 --> 00:32:26 is that once you
00:32:26 --> 00:32:28 ignore or reject the
00:32:28 --> 00:32:29 mercy that is offered
00:32:29 --> 00:32:32 you won't find more.
00:32:34 --> 00:32:36 Once you reject the
00:32:36 --> 00:32:37 way that he has offered
00:32:37 --> 00:32:38 mercy and go looking
00:32:38 --> 00:32:39 elsewhere you won't
00:32:39 --> 00:32:40 find it.
00:32:40 --> 00:32:42 It is limited in the
00:32:42 --> 00:32:44 sense of where it is,
00:32:44 --> 00:32:45 where God has placed
00:32:45 --> 00:32:45 it.
00:32:45 --> 00:32:47 God has offered mercy
00:32:47 --> 00:32:48 to Israel by giving
00:32:48 --> 00:32:49 them the law to guide
00:32:49 --> 00:32:50 them in how to live.
00:32:51 --> 00:32:51 He's offered them
00:32:51 --> 00:32:53 mercy by rescuing
00:32:53 --> 00:32:53 them.
00:32:53 --> 00:32:54 He's offered them
00:32:54 --> 00:32:55 mercy by providing for
00:32:55 --> 00:32:56 their worship and their
00:32:56 --> 00:32:57 religious practice,
00:32:57 --> 00:32:58 giving them a
00:32:58 --> 00:33:00 sacrificial system so
00:33:00 --> 00:33:00 that they might always
00:33:00 --> 00:33:02 remember who he is,
00:33:02 --> 00:33:04 how holy he is,
00:33:04 --> 00:33:06 how serious sin is,
00:33:06 --> 00:33:07 how unworthy they are,
00:33:07 --> 00:33:08 and most importantly
00:33:08 --> 00:33:10 that in spite of all
00:33:10 --> 00:33:12 of that he is making
00:33:12 --> 00:33:13 a way for them to
00:33:13 --> 00:33:14 know him.
00:33:16 --> 00:33:17 God has shown the
00:33:17 --> 00:33:19 mercy, the mercy of
00:33:19 --> 00:33:21 the fact that in spite
00:33:21 --> 00:33:22 of their unworthiness
00:33:22 --> 00:33:23 he has made a way for
00:33:23 --> 00:33:24 them to be his.
00:33:26 --> 00:33:27 And so if they reject
00:33:27 --> 00:33:29 that, if they pervert
00:33:29 --> 00:33:31 that, if they take that
00:33:31 --> 00:33:32 gift and just mistreat
00:33:32 --> 00:33:33 it and change it,
00:33:34 --> 00:33:36 there is nothing else on
00:33:36 --> 00:33:36 offer.
00:33:39 --> 00:33:40 And so all that's
00:33:40 --> 00:33:42 left is judgment.
00:33:46 --> 00:33:47 Do you remember the
00:33:47 --> 00:33:47 conversation that I
00:33:47 --> 00:33:48 opened with, that I
00:33:48 --> 00:33:49 had over my holidays?
00:33:52 --> 00:33:54 That tension that we
00:33:54 --> 00:33:56 feel about a God who
00:33:56 --> 00:33:57 is loving and the good
00:33:57 --> 00:33:58 people we know who
00:33:58 --> 00:33:59 might end up in hell?
00:33:59 --> 00:34:06 Not one person will
00:34:06 --> 00:34:07 end up in hell who
00:34:07 --> 00:34:09 hasn't chosen to
00:34:09 --> 00:34:10 reject the mercy that
00:34:10 --> 00:34:11 God has offered them.
00:34:12 --> 00:34:13 Not one.
00:34:13 --> 00:34:14 God is eternally
00:34:14 --> 00:34:16 merciful and his
00:34:16 --> 00:34:17 mercy is more than
00:34:17 --> 00:34:18 sufficient for every
00:34:18 --> 00:34:19 person ever.
00:34:20 --> 00:34:22 So those that end up
00:34:22 --> 00:34:23 facing his judgment
00:34:23 --> 00:34:24 will be those that
00:34:24 --> 00:34:25 choose to reject the
00:34:25 --> 00:34:26 mercy that he offers.
00:34:26 --> 00:34:30 The issue for Israel
00:34:30 --> 00:34:31 wasn't lack of mercy,
00:34:31 --> 00:34:32 it was that they
00:34:32 --> 00:34:33 rejected the mercy God
00:34:33 --> 00:34:34 had provided in his
00:34:34 --> 00:34:35 law and in the
00:34:35 --> 00:34:36 sacrificial system.
00:34:38 --> 00:34:38 And so all that was
00:34:38 --> 00:34:40 left for them was
00:34:40 --> 00:34:40 judgment.
00:34:42 --> 00:34:43 Remember these two
00:34:43 --> 00:34:44 groups here.
00:34:44 --> 00:34:46 If you're over here in
00:34:46 --> 00:34:47 this secure in God
00:34:47 --> 00:34:48 category, I want to say
00:34:48 --> 00:34:49 that's something to
00:34:49 --> 00:34:50 thank God for.
00:34:50 --> 00:34:51 That's a good thing.
00:34:51 --> 00:34:52 And I hope you're
00:34:52 --> 00:34:53 encouraged to be
00:34:53 --> 00:34:53 reminded tonight by
00:34:53 --> 00:34:55 just how merciful your
00:34:55 --> 00:34:57 God is, but I think a
00:34:57 --> 00:34:57 whole bunch of us live
00:34:57 --> 00:34:58 in this middle group.
00:34:59 --> 00:35:00 We'd love to be over
00:35:00 --> 00:35:03 here, but on bad days
00:35:03 --> 00:35:04 we just kind of think,
00:35:04 --> 00:35:05 does God actually love
00:35:05 --> 00:35:05 me?
00:35:07 --> 00:35:08 Maybe you're starting to
00:35:08 --> 00:35:09 recognize tonight that
00:35:09 --> 00:35:11 you're even over in this
00:35:11 --> 00:35:11 group.
00:35:13 --> 00:35:14 The issues for the
00:35:14 --> 00:35:16 overconfident group and
00:35:16 --> 00:35:17 the insecure group are
00:35:17 --> 00:35:18 essentially the same.
00:35:20 --> 00:35:21 It's your view of God.
00:35:21 --> 00:35:24 The overconfident group
00:35:24 --> 00:35:26 gets apathetic in their
00:35:26 --> 00:35:27 following Jesus.
00:35:28 --> 00:35:28 That's Israel.
00:35:30 --> 00:35:32 They don't care about
00:35:32 --> 00:35:32 anything other than
00:35:32 --> 00:35:33 ticking the box of going
00:35:33 --> 00:35:35 to church because God's
00:35:35 --> 00:35:36 going to forgive them
00:35:36 --> 00:35:36 anyway.
00:35:37 --> 00:35:38 They've got him over a
00:35:38 --> 00:35:38 barrel.
00:35:38 --> 00:35:39 They've ticked their bit.
00:35:40 --> 00:35:41 He has to show them
00:35:41 --> 00:35:41 mercy.
00:35:42 --> 00:35:43 It's what we sometimes
00:35:43 --> 00:35:44 call cheap grace.
00:35:45 --> 00:35:46 Where all you know about
00:35:46 --> 00:35:48 God is that he has to
00:35:48 --> 00:35:48 love you and say, you
00:35:48 --> 00:35:49 can just do whatever you
00:35:49 --> 00:35:49 want.
00:35:49 --> 00:35:53 But that's not the whole
00:35:53 --> 00:35:53 picture with God.
00:35:53 --> 00:35:55 Yes, God is merciful, but
00:35:55 --> 00:35:56 God is just.
00:35:58 --> 00:35:59 Now for the insecure
00:35:59 --> 00:36:02 group, our issue is that
00:36:02 --> 00:36:04 we look at God and we get
00:36:04 --> 00:36:05 concerned that God's like
00:36:05 --> 00:36:06 us.
00:36:07 --> 00:36:08 So his mercy is like our
00:36:08 --> 00:36:10 mercy, which means it
00:36:10 --> 00:36:12 might disappear if we push
00:36:12 --> 00:36:12 him too hard.
00:36:13 --> 00:36:15 We get concerned that he's
00:36:15 --> 00:36:16 going to get angry and his
00:36:16 --> 00:36:18 anger is going to ride over
00:36:18 --> 00:36:20 the top of his mercy, that
00:36:20 --> 00:36:21 we might do something
00:36:21 --> 00:36:22 that's just unforgivable.
00:36:24 --> 00:36:25 And so we serve and we go
00:36:25 --> 00:36:26 to church and we be nice to
00:36:26 --> 00:36:28 people, but it is driven by
00:36:28 --> 00:36:30 this weight of guilt and fear
00:36:30 --> 00:36:32 that if I don't, God won't
00:36:32 --> 00:36:32 love me anymore.
00:36:37 --> 00:36:39 But that's not who God has
00:36:39 --> 00:36:41 revealed himself to be either.
00:36:41 --> 00:36:44 God has shown us time and time
00:36:44 --> 00:36:46 again in Scripture, in history
00:36:46 --> 00:36:48 and most importantly in his son
00:36:48 --> 00:36:51 Jesus, that he is patient, he is
00:36:51 --> 00:36:54 merciful, he is just, he will not
00:36:54 --> 00:36:56 let the guilty go unpunished and
00:36:56 --> 00:36:58 that he owes us nothing.
00:36:58 --> 00:37:03 That we have no entitlement to his
00:37:03 --> 00:37:04 mercy.
00:37:06 --> 00:37:08 And yet he chooses to offer it
00:37:08 --> 00:37:09 anyway.
00:37:12 --> 00:37:13 What we find in the Scripture as
00:37:13 --> 00:37:16 we go through is that he chooses
00:37:16 --> 00:37:18 to send Jesus to die in our place
00:37:18 --> 00:37:21 even though it's us who deserve
00:37:21 --> 00:37:21 that punishment.
00:37:23 --> 00:37:25 Even though it's us who mistreat
00:37:25 --> 00:37:25 God.
00:37:25 --> 00:37:27 Even though it's us who mistreat
00:37:27 --> 00:37:27 one another.
00:37:28 --> 00:37:29 Even though it's us who live
00:37:29 --> 00:37:30 like we're the center of the
00:37:30 --> 00:37:30 universe.
00:37:31 --> 00:37:33 God chooses to intervene and
00:37:33 --> 00:37:36 offer mercy to people like us.
00:37:37 --> 00:37:40 He chooses to take the punishment
00:37:40 --> 00:37:41 that makes it possible for
00:37:41 --> 00:37:43 unworthy people like you and me
00:37:43 --> 00:37:47 to not just know him, but to call
00:37:47 --> 00:37:48 him father.
00:37:50 --> 00:37:52 To be brought into his family.
00:37:54 --> 00:37:57 It is not possible to find
00:37:57 --> 00:38:00 security in your attempts to follow
00:38:00 --> 00:38:01 and serve God.
00:38:03 --> 00:38:05 It might work for a little while,
00:38:06 --> 00:38:08 but all it will take is one bad
00:38:08 --> 00:38:08 week.
00:38:09 --> 00:38:11 One lapse in concentration and
00:38:11 --> 00:38:13 character and suddenly you've done
00:38:13 --> 00:38:14 something you know is not good
00:38:14 --> 00:38:15 enough and you're trapped back in
00:38:15 --> 00:38:16 insecurity and fear.
00:38:18 --> 00:38:20 It is not possible to find security
00:38:20 --> 00:38:21 in your circumstance.
00:38:25 --> 00:38:27 Because circumstances change quickly
00:38:27 --> 00:38:27 too.
00:38:32 --> 00:38:34 The only security you will find when
00:38:34 --> 00:38:36 it comes to the judgment of God is
00:38:36 --> 00:38:38 found in God himself.
00:38:38 --> 00:38:40 Because his mercy and his love are not
00:38:40 --> 00:38:41 based on you.
00:38:42 --> 00:38:43 They're based in him.
00:38:43 --> 00:38:45 They're who he is and they are
00:38:45 --> 00:38:47 demonstrated concretely and visibly
00:38:47 --> 00:38:50 in what Jesus does on the cross.
00:38:51 --> 00:38:53 On the cross the punishment that you
00:38:53 --> 00:38:55 deserve is poured out on him
00:38:55 --> 00:38:57 completely and satisfied fully.
00:38:58 --> 00:39:00 And so because of Jesus you can stand
00:39:00 --> 00:39:02 as somebody who is unworthy and know
00:39:02 --> 00:39:04 that God's love for you will never be
00:39:04 --> 00:39:05 turned away.
00:39:05 --> 00:39:10 If you accept the mercy that God offers
00:39:10 --> 00:39:13 when he says come to me, if you go to
00:39:13 --> 00:39:18 Jesus looking for forgiveness, the answer
00:39:18 --> 00:39:21 is always irreversibly unconditionally
00:39:21 --> 00:39:21 yes.
00:39:23 --> 00:39:25 In those moments where you wonder does
00:39:25 --> 00:39:26 God still love me?
00:39:26 --> 00:39:29 What Jesus does is prove to you that God
00:39:29 --> 00:39:32 has given you the most costly thing he
00:39:32 --> 00:39:32 could.
00:39:33 --> 00:39:36 His perfect and only son.
00:39:37 --> 00:39:39 And he did it when you were at your
00:39:39 --> 00:39:40 worst.
00:39:41 --> 00:39:43 He did it knowing everything that would
00:39:43 --> 00:39:44 come after that point and he still
00:39:44 --> 00:39:45 chose to do it.
00:39:46 --> 00:39:47 Which means you can stand in your
00:39:47 --> 00:39:50 imperfection and failure as somebody
00:39:50 --> 00:39:52 confident that God loves you.
00:39:53 --> 00:39:55 Not because of you, because of him.
00:39:57 --> 00:40:00 That is the call to let go of the
00:40:00 --> 00:40:02 things that we are placing our trust in.
00:40:02 --> 00:40:03 To let go of the things that we reach
00:40:03 --> 00:40:05 out to when we're feeling uncomfortable
00:40:05 --> 00:40:07 and to come back to God as he has
00:40:07 --> 00:40:08 revealed himself.
00:40:09 --> 00:40:12 To come back to the cross and understand
00:40:12 --> 00:40:14 that there we will be released to love
00:40:14 --> 00:40:16 God and to love people not out of guilt,
00:40:17 --> 00:40:20 not out of fear, but out of the security
00:40:20 --> 00:40:24 and peace and hope of being the precious
00:40:24 --> 00:40:27 sons and daughters of a heavenly father
00:40:27 --> 00:40:32 who is merciful and just and sovereign and
00:40:32 --> 00:40:33 powerful.
00:40:37 --> 00:40:41 God's mercy is only limited in the sense of
00:40:41 --> 00:40:43 where you can find it.
00:40:43 --> 00:40:45 God's mercy is only limited in the sense of
00:40:45 --> 00:40:45 God.
00:40:45 --> 00:40:47 So long as you have breath in your lungs,
00:40:48 --> 00:40:52 if you ask God to forgive you, he will do it.
00:40:55 --> 00:40:57 If you ask him to show you the peace and
00:40:57 --> 00:41:02 hope and joy and freedom of being irreversibly,
00:41:02 --> 00:41:04 unconditionally and eternally loved by him,
00:41:04 --> 00:41:09 then today you will experience that.
00:41:11 --> 00:41:13 Right now we're about to share in a meal
00:41:13 --> 00:41:15 called the Lord's Supper.
00:41:16 --> 00:41:18 This is a meal that Jesus gave to his
00:41:18 --> 00:41:19 disciples just before he died.
00:41:21 --> 00:41:23 It's a meal that he gave to his disciples
00:41:23 --> 00:41:27 and for us as a means of drawing us back
00:41:27 --> 00:41:29 to what he had done.
00:41:29 --> 00:41:31 Drawing us back to the foundation that enables
00:41:31 --> 00:41:35 us to stand before a holy God, a God who
00:41:35 --> 00:41:39 will judge confident, not because of us,
00:41:39 --> 00:41:41 but because of the body that was broken
00:41:41 --> 00:41:43 for us, because of the blood that was
00:41:43 --> 00:41:44 shed for us.
00:41:45 --> 00:41:47 And so as we get ready to share in this
00:41:47 --> 00:41:49 meal, I want to challenge you.
00:41:49 --> 00:41:50 Don't just go through the motions like,
00:41:50 --> 00:41:52 you know, we do this, pass it on, next,
00:41:52 --> 00:41:52 what?
00:41:54 --> 00:41:56 If you are somebody who lives in this space
00:41:56 --> 00:41:58 of insecurity, I want to invite you to hand
00:41:58 --> 00:42:00 it over to God tonight.
00:42:01 --> 00:42:04 I want to invite you to recognize that the
00:42:04 --> 00:42:07 reason you're insecure is because you're
00:42:07 --> 00:42:09 trying to trust your version of God.
00:42:09 --> 00:42:11 But the real God is here.
00:42:12 --> 00:42:15 The real God is in what Jesus has done.
00:42:15 --> 00:42:17 And if you stand there, you don't have to
00:42:17 --> 00:42:17 fear.
00:42:18 --> 00:42:19 You don't have to wonder.
00:42:19 --> 00:42:19 You can know.
00:42:21 --> 00:42:23 And if you're over here and recognizing for
00:42:23 --> 00:42:25 the first time tonight that God's not okay
00:42:25 --> 00:42:27 with a blank check and you just get to do
00:42:27 --> 00:42:28 whatever you want,
00:42:28 --> 00:42:35 tonight is your chance to be forever accepted
00:42:35 --> 00:42:35 by God.
00:42:37 --> 00:42:39 Tonight is your chance to be welcomed into the
00:42:39 --> 00:42:40 family.
00:42:40 --> 00:42:42 Tonight is your chance to recognize that the
00:42:42 --> 00:42:45 call to sacrifice, to serve for God, to give
00:42:45 --> 00:42:47 for God, to love other people for God is
00:42:47 --> 00:42:49 actually a blessing.
00:42:49 --> 00:42:50 It's not a burden.
00:42:50 --> 00:42:52 It's not a standard you've got to meet up to.
00:42:52 --> 00:42:57 The plumb line, the measure that God demands is
00:42:57 --> 00:42:58 perfection.
00:43:00 --> 00:43:04 And this bread and this juice is symbolic that
00:43:04 --> 00:43:06 Jesus meets that standard for us.
00:43:08 --> 00:43:10 Whenever you wonder whether or not God loves
00:43:10 --> 00:43:15 you, all you need do is look at the perfect
00:43:15 --> 00:43:21 Savior who died in your place and know that now the
00:43:21 --> 00:43:25 words of approval reserved for Jesus are available
00:43:25 --> 00:43:25 to you.
00:43:28 --> 00:43:31 The words that God speaks when Jesus is baptized,
00:43:31 --> 00:43:34 this is my son whom I love, with him I am well
00:43:34 --> 00:43:39 pleased, are now yours if you accept the mercy that
00:43:39 --> 00:43:42 God offers in his son and only in his son.
00:43:44 --> 00:43:47 I want to invite the helpers who are going to bring
00:43:47 --> 00:43:48 this round, but I want to encourage you, hold on to
00:43:48 --> 00:43:49 these two things.
00:43:49 --> 00:43:52 Because we're going to eat and drink them together.
00:43:54 --> 00:43:57 But if you're not a Christian, when you get this
00:43:57 --> 00:44:00 bread and this juice, you might not know what this is
00:44:00 --> 00:44:01 about, how it works.
00:44:01 --> 00:44:03 I want you to grab them anyway because this is your
00:44:03 --> 00:44:06 chance to actually accept the mercy that God offers in
00:44:06 --> 00:44:06 Jesus.
00:44:07 --> 00:44:10 This is your chance to go from not sure to secure.
00:44:10 --> 00:44:15 And if you're someone who's following Jesus, this is your
00:44:15 --> 00:44:19 chance to come back again to the immovable foundation that
00:44:19 --> 00:44:20 God offers us in Jesus.
00:44:20 --> 00:44:22 And if you're not a Nope Salesman, you can put
00:44:22 --> 00:44:23 out of that for me.
00:44:25 --> 00:44:27 And if you four days before him, you want to
00:44:33 --> 00:44:38 London again and then Drop it in space and
00:44:38 --> 00:44:38 use them access to him.
00:44:39 --> 00:44:41 And put the Devil in, then password down in life.
00:44:41 --> 00:44:43 And you can certainly hold on your help right now.
00:44:43 --> 00:44:43 And it's never for me, or for you life.
00:44:43 --> 00:44:44 And we would say through this, because there is a
00:44:44 --> 00:44:45 long switch coming back, and you're not a
00:44:45 --> 00:44:47 thing coming back, but they've been
00:44:47 --> 00:44:47 by the way.